Azeite de dendê or dendê palm oil is a traditional and widely used cooking oil derived from the fruit of the African oil palm tree (lat. Elaeis guineensis), characterized by its rich red color and distinctive, nutty flavor.
Although the palm is of African origin and the oil from it is a staple ingredient in the cuisines of many African countries, particularly in West Africa, azeite de dendê has evolved to be a separate variety, emblematic of the Brazilian state of Bahia.
Sierra Magina is an extra-virgin olive oil obtained from Picual and Manzanillo de Jaén olives, produced in 16 municipalities in the Province of Jaén surrounded by the Sierra Mágina Natural Park. Ripe olives are carefully harvested, selected and transferred to oil mills and pressed within two days of gathering.
The oil is immediately analyzed, graded and packaged to be placed on the market. Its taste is very fruity and slightly bitter. Sierra Magina has a distinctive deep green to golden yellow color, depending on the harvesting season and olive grove location.
Huile d'olive d'Aix-en-Provence is a strongly aromatic olive oil produced in the French regions of Bouches-du-Rhône and Var. Its aroma is influenced by notes of greenery while the olives must be of the Aglandau, Cayanne and Salonenque varieties (at least 80% of the trees that are five-year-old).
The olive oil is a blend of at least two of the main varieties of olives. Every December, there is an olive oil festival, where the producers offer a taste of the flavors of this olive oil and related products such as table olives, tapenades and biscuits.
The aromatic Aosta Valley Lard is an exquisite cold cut traditionally produced in the Alpine town of Arnad, where the tradition of pig farming dates centuries back. One of the distinctive features in the production of Lard d’Arnad is the animals' diet, consisting mainly of chestnuts, roots and tubers found in the Valley.
Made of pork shoulder fat, Aosta Valley Lard is salted and seasoned with pepper, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and aromatic herbs such as bay leaf, sage, rosemary, juniper and milfoil, gathered in the mountains surrounding Arnad. This variety of lard is immersed in brine and matured in special oak and chestnut wood containers for about three months, after which the product attains its sweet, full-bodied flavor.
Montes de Granada is an extra virgin olive oil made from selected olives of Picual, Lucio and Loaime varieties grown in the province of Granada. This extra virgin olive oil is obtained by mechanically extracting the oil, taking care that the temperature does not exceed the 27 degrees Celsius during any stage of the production.
Montes de Granada is green to greenish yellow and has a mellow flavor with fruity and green notes. This oil is slightly bitter and pungent and has a pleasant peppery aftertaste. Every step of the production of Montes de Granada, including packaging and labeling, must take place in the province of Granada to ensure superior quality and traceability of this exceptional oil.
Salo is a traditional pork product consisting of non-rendered pork fatback that goes through a process of curing that may involve dry-salting, brining, or boiling. The finished product is a creamy white or pale pink pork fat surrounded by a thin pork rind with a golden-yellow hue and rarely with any meat attached to it.
With a somewhat sweet flavor, the cured pork fatback is sometimes smoked, and it may be seasoned with spices and herbs such as black pepper, paprika, garlic, or thyme, which work both as flavorings and preservatives. Initially a common peasant food, Ukrainian salo has made its way among the most beloved and recognizable foods of the country, and it is often dubbed Ukraine’s national food.
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “6 Worst Rated Oils and Animal Fats in the World” list until April 19, 2025, 2,379 ratings were recorded, of which 1,060 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.