Olive oil is a key product of the Mediterranean diet, characterized by great versatility and numerous beneficial properties. Let’s find out together what are the 5 steps for the production of the olive oil!

How to cultivate the olive tree to extract an excellent extra virgin olive oil

The cultivation of the olive tree is an ancient activity that requires great passion and a lot of dedication.

It includes some processing phases that are repeated every olive-growing season: fertilization, pruning, defense, harvesting. These phases are very important for obtaining an excellent quality olive oil.

In ancient times the principle of oil extraction was based on the compression rupture of the drupes in stone mortars or crucibles obtained in the rock.

But as early as the 4th century BC the use of rotating wheels characterized by stone and wheel bases, with a wooden axis inserted in the center to allow movement by humans or animals, has begun.

The processing of the olives in order to extract the oil, consists essentially in breaking the tissues of the fruit, turning it into a paste, to make the juice or oily must come out. The solid residue that is obtained is called “sansa” and can be subjected to further chemical extraction.

The 5 steps for the production of olive oil

Olive Oil production is mainly divided into 5 phases.

Collection

Harvesting is one of the most delicate and decisive steps to obtain an excellent quality olive oil.
Generally it is facilitated with the use of nets lying on the ground under the plants that allow to easily collect the fallen product or facilitated by any mechanical equipment.

Washing and pressing

After harvesting the olives are weighed and subjected to an abundant washing in water. This process is carried out with a special washing machine with a constant flow of water that invests the olives.

The crushing system of the milled olives is the most ancient instrument, conceptually derived from the millstones used since the Hellenic age. Today, however, many mills use the most modern hammer crushers, which break the olives by pushing them violently against a metal grid.

Kneading

After pressing the olive paste is subjected to the kneading operation which consists of a continuous and slow mixing of the dough.

The kneading phase is an essential moment for the subsequent extraction of the oil from the olive paste. In fact, the kneading allows the olive paste to reach the optimal temperature in which the natural enzymes present are able to fully activate.

Extraction

The extraction phase consists in the separation of the oil from the solid fraction.

This phase can be performed for:

• Pressure;
• Centrifugation;
• Percolation.

Separation

In this final phase we proceed to separate the olive oil from the water thanks to the centrifugal force.

Here at Villa Campestri we produce an excellent quality olive oil that comes from a centuries-old olive tree, from olives processed in the family’s oil mill on the day of the harvest.
To find out more about the 5 phases of oil production, we are waiting for you at Villa Campestri, the first Olive Oil Resort in the world!