The olive pressing is still done following old-fashioned methods.
Olives are picked directly from the tree, without letting them drop to the ground,
because these olives may have too high a level of maturation or acidity.
Once picked, the olives are put into an oil press where two large stone wheels press them "a freddo" (cold) without using hot water.
The paste obtained is placed on discs called "schiancini",
they are pressed from the press and then separated from the heavier residues.
This is how we arrive at the marvellous "green olive oil" which is placed to settle in large containers and finally poured into jars to protect it from direct light which could cause oxidation.
The olives constituted mainly from Canino variety, with other varietes like Frantoio, Pendolino, Moraiolo, Leccino, etc, are daily harvested by our customers in aerated hampers, and processed within 24 hours following rigorously the next cycle:
WASHING
From the hampers the olives, stored under a shed to prevent temperature increases,
are poured in a hopper and through a conveyer belt to a the defoliating unit and to the washing machine
that deprives them of all the impurities (leaves, branches, earth, etc)
CRUSHING
After the washing they are crushed by a mill with blades and hammers,
the hammers have the function to produce a greener oil rich of phenols.
Everything is done indoors in order to avoid the evaporation of volatile compounds like the polyphenols,
since they help the conservation of the oil, and far from the oxygen that would oxidize oil producing the peroxides.
KNEADING
The produced paste is knead for about half an hour in tanks at a temperature of 25-27°C.
PRESSING
After the kneading it is introduced in the “SINOLEA” which extracts up to 80% of the oil contained in the paste through natural percolation (dripping).
SEPARATION
The semiexhausted paste is passed to another tank and it is knead and diluted, with the same water produced from the olives without any other addition, in fact the normal water could affect the last phase of separation of the oil from the water.
After this last kneading it is pushed inside the decanter which extracts with centrifugation the residual oil.
STORAGE
The juice produced is pumped to the separators, that using the centrifugal force separate the oil from the water and other solid residuals. The extracted oil is stored in steel tanks and after about 10 days of settling poured in other containers before to be lightly filtered and packaged.
TASTE IT
So simple yet so tasty, a bruschetta with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil is a unique
gastronomical delight for both young and old.