Visit our Trade web siteToday, few farmers produce their own oil but deliver their harvest to local co-operative mills for pressing. Olives are pressed as soon as possible after picking because piles of olives produce heat causing fermentation and exposure to air resulting in oxidisation, both of which impair quality.
Whole olives are first crushed to shred the flesh and release the oil. Thousands of years ago crushing was done manually. Today olives are crushed using mechanical stainless steel grindstones. Mainly, the oil is separated from the resulting paste using a centrifuge, which spins the paste at high speed. There is also a method involving stainless steel blades which gently collect the oil.
Whilst the oil may be filtered, it is otherwise untreated and is totally natural. Olive oil is graded according to acidity.
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