Follow the adventures of Paul Pitzers and Grace Pitzer

Olive Oil Production

5/19/2016

What Makes Extra Virgin Olive Oil?

May 9 we left for the Chianti countryside, driving through the gorgeous vineyards and hills of Tuscany. Our first stop was to the Pruneti family owned olive oil mill. This was the state of the art mill with machines that accomplished all the steps in the process of producing extra virgin olive oil. Since mid October through December is the time when this is done, we could only hear about it through a lecture by an enthusiastic guide.

In order to have truly extra virgin olive oil the olives have to be pressed, by mechanical means (not chemical) and below 27 degrees Celsius. They first press the green olives, then the purple/brown, and last the black olives.

This is an organic company so they follow all the regulations needed. Each of the six machines did something special to the olives such as:
1. Takes off the leaves, stems and anything else that came in with the olives.
2. Washes the olives in cold water.
3. Cuts up the olives, stone/pit included. The pit is important for the taste. This machine mixes that into a paste.
4. This machine is a five stage mixer that slowly turns the paste until it becomes shiny, indicating the oil is coming out
5. The paste is then pumped into the last chamber where it is spun fast to extract the oil. 20% of the oil is extracted to this point.
6. The final state is to filter the oil to be sure all the particles of the stones, etc. are removed. All those byproducts are used for biofuel or burned in the winter.

Needless to say, the really good extra virgin olive oil is not cheap. There should be no sediments in the bottle and the acidity should be less than 0.02%. The olive oil is bottled with nitrogen in the dark bottles to keep out oxygen and help preserve it. The rule of thumb is that it should be used up before the next year's harvest.

After the explanation of all the process and machines, we were taken upstairs to some tasting. A question was asked about "Light" olive oil. Since all oil is 100% oil, the word light just refers to its taste and has nothing to do with calories, etc.

When tasting olive oil there are three things to try to sense.
1. Is there a grassy green taste?
2. Is there a spicy taste which would be the antioxidants?
3. Is there bitterness in the back of your throat?

This mill sells their oil at their location and also at some specialty shops in the US. Some of our group bought bottles and cans to take home. This was a very informative stop.

The next stop for the day was to visit Christina at her 400 year old farm house for a cooking lesson. Those who wanted had a chance to participate in making the dishes we would have for lunch. The end result was delicious.

This was another event filled day.
Grace and Paul