9 Quick Tips About Making Olive Oil

Posted by Hannah Broaddus

Did you know? Facts about olive oil

 

Did you know?

  1. About 50% of the world supply of olive oil is grown in Spain.
  2. Italian olive oil is in high demand-- far more than their trees can supply. Much of “Italian Olive Oil” is actually imported from other countries and bottled in Italy.
  3. In fact, Italy’s internal demand for olive oil is so high that they can’t support their own citizen use for it-- they have to import olive oil just to maintain enough for their own users, before the idea of export is even brought into the equation.
  4. Spain is known for a peppery flavored oil that has a stronger taste to it than other origins like Italy, Greece and France-- though it really depends on the olive varietal used to make the oil.
  5. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is pressed within 24 hours of the harvesting time, to keep the acidity level low. Acid in the olives increases once they are picked and the sun shines down on them.
  6. Olives can be hand picked or mechanically picked. But the quality debate continues on which option is better. Mechanically picked olives move from the tree to the manufacturing facility as fast as possible, which keeps the acidity low. However, with mechanical pickers large “hands” shake the trees and the olives fall into a bucket, so they often encounter more bruising which increases the acidity. On the other hand, hand picked olives encounter less bruising, but the process takes much longer. The longer the olives take from harvest to production, the more their quality decreases. This is a continuing debate and there are pros and cons no matter which option you take.
  7. Most olive oil in modern facilities is now obtained using a centrifuge that spins the oil out like water from a washing machine on the spin cycle. This actually produces a higher quality olive oil than the traditional method of pressing it. Therefore, most Extra Virgin Olive Oil that says “first cold press” is actually “first cold spin”. The term “first cold press” is continually used though, because the general consumer understands what it means.
  8. Olive oil manufacturing is most often done at a communal mill called a “co-op”. This is one facility where all of the area farmers can bring their olives in for pressing, so that everyone does not need to own their own high tech machinery.
  9. Greeks eat the most olive oil per person in the world-- a whopping 5.2 gallons per year on average!
 

Topics: Comparing Oils, Olive Oil

 

 

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