- The general steps in making olive oil are as follows; (1) Olive trees are carefully cultivated, and many will produce great olives for hundreds of years. The quality of the olive depends on the soil and weather during the growing season (2) The ripe olives are harvested and taken to the mill as soon as possible after picking (3) Giant stone wheels are used to crush the olives into a mash (4) The mash is spread onto thin mats that are stacked into a press. As pressure is applied, oil and water seep out. No heat is used, hence the term “first cold pressed” (5) After pressing, if the oil is judged to be excellent, any water is separated out, and the oil is filtered to remove small bits of fruit or pit. Some oils are left unfiltered by preference (6)Extra is the highest grade for the best, pure, unrefined and unprocessed oil of the fruit. To be graded as Extra Virgin, the oil must exhibit superior taste, aroma and color. And to meet the most exacting labeling standards, it must also have less than one percent free oleic acid (7) Oils that are judged deficient after the pressing are sent to a refinery where defects in color, taste and aroma are removed by industrial processing (8) Oil that has been refined in this way is colorless and tasteless. Before this oil can be sold as ordinary, or “pure” olive oil, some virgin olive oil is blended back to provide color and taste. “Light” and “mild” olive oils are also made this way, but less “virgin” oil is added back in.
- Olives are fruit, grown on the olive tree, olea europaea. Olive trees have been cultivated for thousands of years, and were already plentiful during biblical times. Plucked from the tree, the olive is extremely bitter, and virtually inedible. Prior to eating, olives are typically cured, either in brine,water or in oil.
- Major olive producers in the world include countries which border the Mediterranean Sea (e.g., France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey), as well as California and in South America.
- The traditional method of extracting olive oil from the fruit is virtually the same today as it has been for thousands of years. At harvest time, which varies from region to region, olives are harvested by hand, and collected in nets placed around the foot of the tree. A day or two thereafter, the olives are taken to the mill.
- Extra virgin oil may be consumed either in a filtered or unfiltered state. Filtration is the process by which the microscopic bits of the fruit of the olive are removed from the oil. Unfiltered oil will be cloudy until it settles to the bottom. Some consider unfiltered oil superior because of the added flavor from the fruit, while others say it shortens the oil’s shelf life. Ultimately, it is a matter of personal preference.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil. “Extra” is the highest grade for olive oil–the best you can buy. The virgin oil produced from the mechanical pressing described above may be called “extra” if it has less than 1% free oleic acid, and if it exhibits superior taste, color and aroma. Thus, the “extra” in extra virgin olive oil means “premium,” or simply, “the best.”
- Ordinary “olive oil” is actually a blended oil product. Olive oil producers start with low quality virgin olive oils. For these oils to be fit for consumption, they must be refined using mechanical, thermal and/or chemical processes. The resulting “refined olive oil” is largely colorless and tasteless. Before the resulting product is sold as “olive oil,” the producer blends into the refined olive oil a percentage of quality virgin olive oil to provide color and taste.
- “Light” or “Mild” Olive Oil. Light olive oil is a variation on ordinary olive oil. Producers of this product use a highly refined olive oil, and add less quality virgin oil than that typically used to blend olive oil. The only thing “light” about light olive oil is the taste and color; it has the same caloric and fat content as other oils.
- Olive-Pomace Oil. Olive-pomace oil is the residue oil that is extracted by chemical solvents from previously pressed olive mash. This oil must be highly-refined to remove chemical impurities. Like ordinary olive oil, refined olive-pomace oil is enriched with virgin olive oil prior to sale.
- Olive Oil Blends. Olive oil blends (e.g., canola oil enriched with some virgin olive oil) are sometimes used as a more economical substitute for olive oil (but not as a substitute for extra virgin olive oil). Because the production of good olive oil is labor intensive–the olives must essentially be picked by hand–the resulting product is more expensive than other vegetable oils. To offer a more economical product with some of the goodness of olive oil, some companies make olive oil blends. In an olive oil blend, the producer uses a base of a less expensive vegetable oil (e.g. canola oil) to which it adds a percentage (e.g. 25%) of virgin olive oil. These products have proven particularly attractive to restaurant and institutional purchasers where the small savings per tablespoon results in big savings due to the large volume they purchase.