How is Actually “Liquid Gold” Made?

The Production Process of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) – Liquid Gold

“Liquid gold” or extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is made through a meticulous process of harvesting and pressing olives. Here is a brief overview of the process:

1. Harvesting: The olives are harvested from the trees, usually by hand, to ensure they are not damaged in the process. The olives should be picked when they are 30%-40% ripe and at their peak flavor.

2. Cleaning and Sorting: The olives are then cleaned and sorted to remove any leaves or twigs and to separate the ripe from the unripe olives.

3. Crushing: The olives are crushed to release the olive oil. Traditionally, this was done by grinding the olives with a stone mill, but nowadays, most producers use modern equipment, such as stainless steel crushers, which are more efficient.

4. Malaxation: The crushed olives are mixed together to create a paste. This paste is gently stirred to encourage the olive oil droplets to combine and form larger droplets.

5. Separation: The olive oil is separated from the rest of the paste using gravity. This process separates the olive oil from the water and solids. The resulting olive oil is then stored in containers and left to settle.

6. Filtration and Bottling: Our olive oil is self-filtered by the gravity to remove any remaining solids and then bottled.

It’s important to note that extra virgin olive oil must meet specific standards to be considered as such. It must be produced using only mechanical or physical means, without the use of any chemicals or solvents, and must have an acidity level of less than 0.8%. The process of making EVOO requires care and attention to detail to ensure that the resulting olive oil is of the highest quality.