Olive Oil

Spain

Spain is the largest producer of olive oil in the world. Today, Spanish producers are under strict quality control. The different areas and the type of olive grown give different characteristics to the olive oil produced here.

• Catalonië : Siurana en Les Garrigues
• Andalusië: Sierra Magina, Priego de Cordoba, Baena en Sierra de Segura
• Midden Spanje: Campo de Montiel en Toledo

The oil from Andalusia is made from the Picual Olive, which makes the oil strong in flavor. Very intense, powerful, with a fruity olive fruit balance. Oils from northern Spain tend to be sweeter, softer and non-spicy. Some oils have a more grassy or almond character, depending in part on the surrounding vegetation. Juices and flavors are transmitted to olive trees through their roots. For example, almond trees are traditionally planted among olive trees to control fruit flies and pests.

Italy

Italy is a major supplier of good quality extra virgin olive oil. In Umbria and Tuscany in particular, grassy-green character oils are made with a peppery or spicy finish. In Liguria, in the north of the country, more gentle , fresh oils are made.

However, most of Italy’s oil is produced in the South. As much as 80% of production comes from Puglia in particular, but also from other areas such as Calabria, Sicily, Campania and Sardinia.

Greece

According to Greek mythology, olive oil is the gift of the goddess Athena. Nowhere else is the heritage of olive oil so intertwined and connected to everyday life as in Greece. Greeks consume some 21 liters per year per person. By comparison, the Spaniard 12 and us Dutch less than half a liter! Greek oil comes mainly from the Koroneiki olive. The most famous olive oil regions are Crete and the Peloponesus.

Portugal

Portuguese olive oil is generally golden yellow in color and has a distinct aroma and slightly overripe flavor. In Portugal, olives are deliberately picked later and sometimes even deliberately not harvested directly from the tree. The late harvest gives the golden yellow color and strong aroma and flavor.

France

French olive oil production plays only a small role in terms of volume. But France, as a culinary authority and with the luxury, tourist appeal of the French Riviera, the appearance of fine French olive oil does matter for the development of the top olive oil segment. For there are some magnificent olive oils being made in the south of France at a few estates that must be counted among the finest in the world. Estoublon, Alziari and Le Vieux Moulin are examples of beautiful oils with a gentle aroma and different fruit notes, depending on the olives used.

French oils are generally made near Nyons (from the Tanche olive) and on the coast, using the Picholine olive.

Other countries

Within Europe, of course, olive oil production also takes place in Croatia, Bosnia, Albania, Cyprus and Macedonia. In addition, olive oil is produced around Europe in Turkey, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia and the other North African countries, as well as on the other continents such as the United States, Mexico and Brazil, Australia and even China. However, European olive oil production is by far the largest. The European Union particularly wants to defend the leading role in the qualitative segment and therefore provides subsidies for the development of this segment.

Production

An olive tree produces 5 to 10 kilograms of olives per year, enough for 1 to 2 liters of olive oil. 90% of the olives are used to produce olive oil.
Olives are usually harvested from November to January, depending on the type of olive. For the better oil, olives are often picked by hand. The more common ones are stripped of their olives by a shaker. Older olives are picked by hand because the shaker might damage their roots.
Because olives begin to ferment quickly after picking, they must be processed as quickly as possible. In a number of process steps, twigs and leaves are removed and the olives are washed and ground into a paste. From this paste, the oil can then be extracted. This can be done in two ways, pressing or centrifuging.

Press

The olives are pressed 24 hours after harvest. Oil comes from both the pulp and kernels of the olive. The pulp contains 30-50% oil, the kernels 5%. The olive oil press makes olive oil of different qualities and with different purity. The olive paste is kneaded and pressed, formerly with a mortar press, later hydraulically under high pressure up to 400 bar. The oil-water mixture from the press is separated in a centrifuge. Although this is called cold pressing, the paste is slightly heated by the friction but this allows the oil to come out of the paste more easily. However, the temperature should not exceed 28°C to avoid changing the chemical composition of the oil. This also applies to the oil after it is brought into the bottle. The first pressing gives a yield of about 10-20% oil at about 15 °C, that is, 1 liter of olive oil requires 5-10 kilograms of olives.

Centrifuge

Today, the moisture (an oil-water mixture) is usually separated from the paste from the pulp by a centrifuge. The horizontal drum in the centrifuge is nearly 2 meters long and over half a meter in diameter. The drum rotates at about 3,000 rpm. Around the drum is a solid jacket so that the process itself is not directly observable. The advantage of this method is that the stone of the olive remains whole (breaking the stone gives the oil a sour taste) and that it is a continuous process. Therefore, centrifuging cannot be referred to as 1st or 2nd pressing.

Virgin (Vierge) olive oil is made by the mechanical method, pressing only with pressure. Nothing has been heated and no other means have been used. A special form of this is extra virgin olive oil: the most expensive quality olive oil with the most pronounced flavor. This is also known as Extra Virgin olive oil, which has an acidity of no higher than 0.8.

When an oil is not labeled “extra virgin,” it does not mean it is not good. There are fine “pure” olive oils, however, this is a mixture of refined oil with a little extra virgin oil, which provides the flavor. The final difference is that it contains less essential nutritional values and the taste is less tasty and less strong.

Refined olive oil is obtained by refining virgin olive oil. In refining, impurities are removed from the oil. In the process, some of the flavor is also lost. Ordinary olive oil has a more neutral taste than the more expensive grades. This olive oil is a mixture of refined olive oil and virgin olive oil.

Olive waste oil uses olives that did not pass the first quality selection due to size, damage or because they are too ripe. This oil is often of lower quality, but can have the same properties as the above types due to processing. Which type of oil it is can be measured and tasted. Virgin and especially Extra Virgin oils have no taste defects, have lower acidity (expressed in free fatty acid content) and taste fruitier.