Ingredients
Olive Oil & Argan Oil in Morocco
Morocco runs on two oils. Olive oil is the daily fat of the whole country; argan oil is the rare, nutty treasure of the southwest, unique to Morocco in all the world. Both are cornerstones of the cuisine and both are widely faked for tourists — so knowing what you are tasting and buying is worth your while.
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- 8 min
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- Ingredients
- Updated
- 18 July 2026
At a glance
- Olive oil is the everyday cooking and dipping fat across Morocco.
- Argan oil comes in two forms: culinary (roasted) for food and cosmetic (unroasted) for skin.
- Amlou — argan oil, almonds and honey — is the great argan breakfast spread.
- Buy argan from cooperatives; genuine oil is expensive and labour-intensive.
Moroccan olive oil
Morocco is a major olive producer, and olive oil is woven through daily eating — poured over bread at breakfast, stirred into tagines and cooked salads, and used to fry and dress almost everything. Moroccan olive oil tends toward a robust, sometimes pleasantly pungent and grassy character, and rural, small-press oils can be intensely flavoured and even a little rustic compared with the smoother supermarket oils of southern Europe.
Olives themselves are inseparable from the cuisine: cured green, violet-brown and black olives appear as a nibble, in salads, and cooked into tagines — cracked green olives with preserved lemon and chicken being the classic. The souks sell olives loose from great glistening mounds, seasoned with harissa, herbs or preserved lemon.
What argan oil actually is
Argan oil is pressed from the kernels inside the fruit of the argan tree (Argania spinosa), which grows almost exclusively in a UNESCO-protected biosphere in southwestern Morocco, between Essaouira and Agadir. Producing it is famously laborious: the hard nuts are cracked by hand, and it takes a great many kilos of fruit and hours of work to yield a single litre — which is why real argan oil is costly.
Two very different oils
It is essential to know which argan oil you want, because they are not interchangeable:
- Culinary argan oil is made from roasted kernels, giving a deep amber colour and a rich, toasty, hazelnut-like flavour. This is the food-grade oil, drizzled over couscous, salads, bread and tagines.
- Cosmetic argan oil is made from unroasted kernels, is paler and near-flavourless, and is used on skin and hair. It is not for eating.
Amlou and argan on the table
The most beloved culinary use of argan oil is amlou: roasted almonds, culinary argan oil and honey blended into a thick, glossy, nut-butter-like spread, eaten at breakfast on msemen or bread (see the Moroccan breakfast guide). A saucer of pure culinary argan oil, sometimes mixed with a little honey, is also set out for dipping bread. Its intense, roasted-nut aroma is unmistakable once you have tasted it.
How to buy the real thing
Because genuine argan oil is expensive and in demand, adulteration and mislabelling are common in tourist areas — oil cut with cheaper oils, or cosmetic oil sold as culinary. A few habits protect you.
- Buy from a women's cooperative in the argan region or a reputable shop; many cooperatives let you see the hand-cracking and pressing.
- Know which you want: culinary (roasted, amber, nutty smell) for food; cosmetic (pale, neutral) for skin.
- Be sceptical of very cheap 'argan oil' — the real thing cannot be produced cheaply.
- Smell and, if allowed, taste: culinary argan should smell distinctly toasted and nutty, not bland or rancid.
- Check it is pure: ask whether it is 100% argan or a blend.
Where to shop
In Marrakech you will find argan products throughout the souks, but for confidence in authenticity, cooperatives and established specialist shops are the safer route — our markets and souks guide points you toward them and covers haggling. To understand argan and olive oil alongside the wider pantry, see the ingredients glossary, and to taste them used properly, book a cooking class or a food tour.
Frequently asked questions
How should I store argan oil?
Keep it in a cool, dark place, tightly sealed and away from heat and light, which turn it rancid. Culinary argan oil is best used within several months of opening. Amlou — the almond, argan and honey spread — also keeps well sealed, but its aroma is finest when fresh.
What is the difference between culinary and cosmetic argan oil?
Culinary argan oil is pressed from roasted kernels, giving an amber colour and rich, toasted, nutty flavour for drizzling on food. Cosmetic argan oil is made from unroasted kernels, is paler and nearly flavourless, and is used only on skin and hair — not for eating.
What does amlou taste like?
Amlou is a thick spread of roasted almonds, culinary argan oil and honey. It tastes rich, sweet and deeply nutty — like a Moroccan almond butter with a distinctive toasted-argan aroma — and is eaten at breakfast on msemen or bread.
How can I tell if argan oil is real?
Genuine culinary argan oil is expensive, amber-coloured and smells strongly of toasted nuts. Buy from women's cooperatives or reputable shops, be wary of very cheap oil, confirm it is 100% argan and not a blend, and make sure you are getting culinary (roasted) oil, not cosmetic.
Is Moroccan olive oil different from European olive oil?
Moroccan olive oil tends to be robust, grassy and sometimes pungent, especially small-press rural oils, which can be more rustic and intensely flavoured than smoother mass-market European oils. It is used daily for cooking, dipping bread and dressing salads and tagines.