Our Extra Virgin Olive Oil high quality olives obtained exclusively from our partners.
This oil has been produced and packaged in our facilities located in Puente Genil.
We have a wide variety of formats for the commercialization of our oils and olives.
Preparation and oil extraction
Olive harvest
The olives are harvested from late autumn olive or early winter and choosing the moment when the olives have the highest level of fatty acids in olive pulp. The olive harvest is an important agricultural labor in production costs and a strong influence on the quality of the oil produced. The harvest time directly affects the composition of the oils and sensory characteristics thereof. The polyphenol content changes along the ripening and does so along a curve with a maximum which generally coincides with the moment of higher oil content in the fruit. These variations in the content of polyphenols affect the sensory characteristics of the oils. As ripening progresses aromas are off and the flavors are softened. The color also experience changes depending on the time of harvesting the olives, oils predominate at first green, various shades depending on the variety, veering towards yellow-gold with advancing harvest time due to the gradual decrease relationship chlorophyll-carotene. In very cold areas is recommended to collect the fruit before the first frosts appear to cause loss of power in the oil obtained. If, however, the collection is delayed with respect to the proper time, appears the natural fall of fruit, enhanced by the winds and directly related to the variety. Once the fruit on the ground undergoes a series of changes that impair the quality of oils obtained essentially the acidity increases as time remaining on earth. It is absolutely necessary to collect, transport and process “separately” fruits fallen on the ground and pinned the olive, or flight, since small amounts of fruits soil can significantly alter the olive collected, if mixed for processing.
Among the collection systems, you should choose one that causes less damage to the olives, as the breakage caused be the site of penetration of fungi that degrade oil and grease exit door in the wash. Not only have to worry about the fruits, but also must use the collection system that causes less damage to the tree.
The milking done by hand or machine, is the ideal method, because the olive is not damaged. It is always used in the collection of table olives, but their high cost makes its use less and less used.
The shaking, made using a long stick and hitting her and cimbreando the branches of the tree, is the most aggressive of how many are used, almost unique system in the past, nowadays tends to decrease significantly in favor of the other collection systems . The shaking causes broken branches and tender shoots, which would have been those who have been following the campaign olives.
The mechanical vibration, with a clamp generally driven or autonomous agricultural tractor, which act on the trunk or tree branch knocks the olives. It is the most used today because it reduces the costs of collection and reduce the damages are caused to the tree with vareo system. This method is always accompanied by “shaking down” due to the considerable amount of olives that fall to the ground, but with vibration vareo action becomes much more affordable.
To reduce the cost of collection, the technique is often used to prepare foot or “arenas”. This technique consists in smoothing the ground around the olive tree, removing weeds with herbicides. This operation facilitates the collection of fruits, whether using vacuum as if collected by hand. Easier in the collection is obtained if extended on the clean canvas. The use of herbicides in the feet of olives tend to abandon because they leave residues in oils.
The olives are cleaned and screened, removing debris such as leaves, stems, dirt or small stones. Then washed with cold water to remove other impurities such as dust, mud, remains possible of herbicides. Finally stored in small piles waiting to be molidas.Antiguamente traditional mills in the warehouse where the olive was called barn.
The harvested olives are transported to a facility in which oil is extracted by olive pressing. These presses or mills specifically called “mills” (the etymology comes from the Arabic “al-mas’sara ‘which means’ remove’, ‘squeeze’). The pressing process leaves release an oily liquid known since Roman times as amurca.To obtain a quality olive oil must be processed within 24 hours of collection.
Grinding
The grinding of the olives is the first process to undergoing olives. This is the fruit breaking order that they can release the oil carrying inside their cells.
The traditional process of grinding is carried out in a mortar or roller mill where they are ground to break up the tissue in which the oil is located. Regarding the mills, there are many types, all of Syrian or Roman invention and whose names are: olearia wheel, wedge, lever and blood, named for being driven by a beast that drags a shaft on which a wheel Vertical granite grinds the olives to make a fine paste. This type of grinding is deprecated, few mills still have it, and the few who have it and are driven electrically.
Currently, most mills include hammer mills, normally with horizontal axis. In them, the olive is introduced automatically and is impacted by metal hammers rotating at high speed. The mill has a sieve of a given diameter, when the particles reach it, go, if not, still inside the mill until they do.
Beaten
Once the paste by grinding it under stirring, in order to remove oil from the oil cells and that this will create larger droplets by aggregation. The mixers have blades or some other system that moves slowly but steadily the pasta in a semi-cylindrical containers. When in subsequent proceedings presses are used to extract the oil, the duration of the mixing is shorter and is limited to ten to twenty minutes.
The mixers have a shirt which hot water can be circulated which in turn heats the batter and facilitates extraction of the oil. It is advisable to work at temperatures not exceeding 25-30 ° C in the mass, since this temperature is sufficient to facilitate extraction of the oil, reducing its viscosity and enhance the formation of the oil phase. Higher temperatures are detrimental.The duration of the mixing should be sufficient to achieve the highest percentage of oil dissolved, but not too long, since there are losses of certain components. In the two-phase continuous systems, by not incorporating the churning water, increasing the time taken to achieve the desired consistency. If the excess is increased mixing time causes a decrease of polyphenols, K225, and stability, increasing the intensity of color, and even appear abnormal smell by excessive oil contact time with the vegetation water.
Extraction
Extraction is the phase in which oil is separated, the content in mass out of the blender, the remaining components of the olive, water, bone, skin, etc..
At present, two systems are used.
Extraction pressure
It is the traditional system. The beaten pulp resulting from pressed, wrapping in baskets or esparto round woven mats, which act as drains, filtering and retaining liquids solids. The liquid decanted through a channel located at the base of the press called a alpechinera jamilera or another jar is decanted, therefore frees the oil substances having in suspension.
This system is obsolete, being few mills that still remain.
Continuous removal by centrifugation
There is another procedure instead of pressing and is currently used industrially as being more efficient and economical. In it, the pasta, once beaten, centrifuged, always without adding chemicals or heat. Thanks to the different densities of the liquids extracted products are separated into levels, being in the outermost part of the centrifuge the heavier (water and pomace) and more towards the center, the lighter (oil).
Continuous systems are called because unlike traditional wherein the press has to stop to unload and re-load, is obtaining these continuous centrifuge for not being fed at one end and on the contrary leaves the oil and byproducts. Within this spin system is distinguished:
One called traditional three phases (oil, vegetable water and pomace). In this system the obtained mixture of churning water is added and subsequently centrifuged, thus obtaining: oil, vegetable water and pomace. The OMW is the vegetation water containing olives, plus some additional amount. Oil is separated by decantation or centrifugation. The pomace is the solid, and is made up of bones, skins and pulp of olives.
Two-phase system: In this system the obtained mixture of egg centrifuged grinding directly on it solid and liquid waste grinding out together, forming a paste called alperujo. In this system two phases, the residue is much more difficult to manage because it has a 75% water and dehydrate must apply to very high temperatures, on the order of 1,200 ° C. By contrast, is a process for obtaining oil which uses significantly less water than three phases.
The remaining pulp is still rich in oil and squeezed again up to three times. The residues are known by the name of Marc. The first oil pressure is the most valued, and as will again squeezing oils are obtained various grades. For a quart of oil extraction is needed first five kilos of olives. Consumption during the first year ensures its qualities are intact. These oils are known by the generic name of virgin olive oil.
The remains solid (a kind of pasta) are known as pomace, and liquids, called dregs, from the extraction of olive oil, are utilized as fuels, with high calorific or organic fertilizers.
Source: Wikipedia