The words about people not knowing what olive oil was don’t come from me. They come from a lady called Veronica who lived on the Tuscan-Umbrian borders in the early 1900s. Parts of Italy, including coastal Sicily where your family live, had olive oil. Vast swathes of it didn’t.

Roman history only covers a small part of Italy and and small portion of its history. The Romans imported 80-85% of their olive oil from Spain and North Africa and when the empire collapsed, this trade collapsed. Olive trees only grew in select places, elsewhere lard was used.

De re coquinaria, the art of cooking, by Marcus gavius apicius an ancient Roman writer, assembled the collection of 500 recipes. Of the 500 recipes olive oil is in almost every single recipe. The average Roman citizen consumed 2 ounces of olive oil per day. Historians say there are many historical writings that bear witness to this. The Roman army used olive oil in their meals. And olive oil is one of the most important foods yet today as it always has been that is not to say that lard was not also an important food, but to say that olive oil was not is incorrect thank you Mike.

Thanks Maria. Yes, and more recently for the processing of wool too. Where did your grandmother come from?

Hi Jill, I’m glad to hear that you and your husband are feeling better. This article highlights the myth that olive oil has always been used in Italy, showing instead that lard was often the only fat available on a daily basis. My recent podcast episode on pork (here: https://ancestralkitchenpodcast.com/2026/01/123-celebrating-real-pork-history-sourcing-a-mouth-watering-recipe-book/) explains that, historically, pigs were very different to the pigs that we are eating now – so I guess that the fat that comes from them is also different. Everyone’s make up is individual and if lard doesn’t work for you, then I recommend choosing what does. Alison

Hello! I’m new here and I appreciate and agree with most everything I’m reading. I’ve always cooked with lard until recently. Chronic, severe leg pain made me question everything. in addition to the pain, I would have an unsettling icy Hot feeling in my legs through the night. I finally stopped eating so much lard replacing it with reason olive oil instead. In just 2 days the icy hot feeling was completely gone and the leg pain is far less frequent. Do you not believe there’s a correlation? Also, my husband made the switch at the same time and it lowered his cholesterol and lipids so much he said he felt 20 years younger. he ended up taking up skiing and is far more active than he’s been in a while. The activity came after the positive affect from the dietary change and it’s effect on his energy and lab work. He just keeps getting younger it seems. I still believe lard is good in healthier people but, once you start having heart issues and or peripheral artery disease ( like me), probably not so much.

Yes, it was accessible to people local to the trees but not nearly for all. Interestingly, the Romans, as well as home-producing, imported a lot of their olive oil from Spain.