Manufacture of olive oil

How to make olive oil

Picking olives

Olive picking takes some time, but it is important to choose the olives that will be squeezed. In the traditional way, sticks or trees are used until the olives fall on the ground, but this method will affect the olive seeds. So many farmers are using a tree-shaking device, making nets under the trees until they pick olives before they reach the ground.

Olive Age

Olive oil was washed and cleaned well after it was selected, then pressed. Earlier, stone or granite wheels were used to crush the olives. Recently, stainless steel rollers were used to crush the olives, where they were subjected to further pressure or treated with a centrifuge, When the centrifuges spin, the olive oil remains pushed to the sides of the cylinder while the water and oil are extracted from the centrifuge center to separate the oil from the water.

Storage of olive oil

The oil is stored after treatment in large tanks made of stainless steel, packed under nitrogen to protect it from oxygen, and it is possible to re-filter the virgin olive oil before packing, usually using diatomatic floor as a filter agent, then filled in colored bottles; UV access to olive oil, also protects oil oxidation; because it does not run out of oxygen.

Factors affecting the quality of olive oil

There are many factors that affect the quality and evaluation of olive oil, such as: climate, soil, method of harvesting, and the method of olive age. Olive oil is also evaluated according to three criteria: fruits, bitterness and radioactivity. The color can vary greatly depending on the source, or if the oil is virgin or not.