The main motorway leading out of Beirut is nestled between the Mediterranean on the west and hills on the east. Organic olive oil producer Youssif Fares pulls over at this exit about 30 minutes outside the capital to pick up his pomegranate molasses.
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Youssif Fares points out to Therese Sfeir which trees in his olive groves are organic, which are in the process of conversion and which are conventional.
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Youssif is a fifth-generation olive farmer. He spends part of his time in Beirut and studied in France. The olives allow him to apply his commercial acumen to the family business.
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The difference between a green olive and a black olive is that the latter is just a riper version of the former. Youssif said it’s best to harvest when the olives are green. In any case, olives fresh off the tree leave a disgusting aftertaste in one’s mouth. It's actually a miracle the oil is so delicious.
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The small production facility is housed in the family homestead. Youssif recently opened a small shop in the town of Akkar and had journalists from around the country over for a visit. He says there needs to be more awareness within Lebanon about organic agriculture.
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After it’s pressed, the organic oil is piped into these large steel tanks for storage. LibanCert ensures that these facilities are not in the proximity of chemicals and that there’s no cross-contamination between oil from conventionally farmed olives and organic.
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Therese Sfeir speaks with the plant’s employees to ensure they follow the LibanCert standards. On this day, she has a few suggestion but overall, she is pleased.
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The bottling, labelling and sealing is all done in a small space beside the Fares family compound.
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Word to the wise: if you want to take olive oil on a plane out of Lebanon, it has to be placed in a wooden box and checked. Not in a cardboard box, not in a plastic bag, but in a wooden box. Security workers don’t necessarily have an explanation why but they do strictly enforce the rule.
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Best on bread – or anything else.
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The Middle East may be famous for its black gold but over here, the oil is more delicious. LibanCert, Lebanon’s organics certification agency, receives funding from the Swiss government.
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There’s oil in Lebanon’s northern hills
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Just beyond the Chuoar Valley waves of stone and scrub meander all the way to the horizon and the afternoon sun glistens through the olive groves of Youssef Fares and his family. Lebanon, a small strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and Syria, was once known as the Switzerland of the Middle East. Since…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.