Italians have a special, reverent attitude towards the olive tree. This is part of the traditions of their people. In fact, everyone has an olive tree on their site, and the inhabitants of the city plant them in pots and place them on terraces and balconies.
The process of making olive oil is very labor intensive, as half of it is manual labor. In addition, it is mandatory to comply with certain rules.
The land under the olive plantations is cultivated in a special way, and the use of chemicals is also unacceptable. During the processing stage, the quality of the olive oil depends on the technology of the collection of the olives, the storage conditions and the duration of their processing.
Picking olives
The olive picking season lasts from September to December, depending on the variety and the area where the tree grows. A signal to start harvesting fruits is a change in their color. As soon as the color turns purple, wine - it means it's time to collect.
There are two ways to collect olives. Manual - cloth is laid around the tree, and the tree itself is, as it were, combed with a small comb. With the machine method, a special machine hits the tree trunk with a large hammer. From this, the fruits crumble down. But experienced farmers claim that the amount of oil in such olives is much less.
After harvesting, the olives are sorted from leaves and twigs and sorted. Medium olives weigh from 3 to 5 g, large olives - over 5 g. The fruit pulp contains from 40 to 70% oil. In order to squeeze out a lot of quality oil, the olives need to reach the factory within a few hours after harvesting.
Traditional spin
Traditional oil mills use millstones made of stone or marble. They grind the olives together with the seeds. Then the raw material enters the mixer, where it is mixed until homogeneous.
In the next step, the olive mass is laid out in circles with holes and filters. Circles in the amount of three pieces are placed on metal discs. These discs are then slid onto a metal pin. When there are 20 such discs, they are put under pressure.
A liquid consisting of oil and water flows out from under the press. A separator separates the oil from the water. The oil obtained from the separator is cold pressed olive oil - Oliva Extra Vergine. The squeezed water is used to irrigate olive plantations.
Modern spinning
In modern oil factories, a special knife system is used to chop the fruit of the olive tree. The resulting mass is placed in a horizontal centrifuge and water is added. In order to separate oil from water, the mixture is heated to a temperature of 28 ° C.
Before using such oil in food or sending it for sale, it needs to be given a “rest”. At first glance, it seems completely transparent. But after the expiration of time, a sediment appears at the bottom of the bottle. If not drained, it will spoil the taste of the oil. After filtering, the oil receives the Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva label.
