Oil's Ain't Oils
There are many different grades of olive oil to consider when selecting and each has various recommendations for its use.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is considered to be the best olive oil of high quality and premium flavour and aroma. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is obtained from the first pressing of the olives and therefore captures the oils natural and abundant goodness expressed as flavour on the palate and aroma on the nose. Australia's production of olive oil is 95‰ EVOO and therefore considered by many around the world as the safest oil to purchase for that very reason. To be Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the oil must have a FFA (Free Fatty Acid) content of less than 0.8‰ by volume according to the IOOC classification.
Vigin Olive Oil must have an acidity less than 2‰, and judged to have a good taste. There can be no refined oil in virgin olive oil.
Pure Olive Oil labeled as Pure olive oil or Olive oil are usually a blend of refined olive oil and one of the above two categories of virgin olive oil.
Olive Oil Is a blend of virgin oil and refined oil, containing no more than 1.5‰ acidity. It commonly lacks a strong flavor.
Olive Pomace Oil is a blend of refined pomace olive oil and possibly some virgin oil. It is fit for consumption, however not very reccommend and also it may not be called olive oil. Olive-pomace oil is rarely found in a grocery store and is often used for certain kinds of cooking in restaurants where heavy oils are required for frying.
Lampante Oil is olive oil not used for consumption; lampante comes from olive oil's ancient use as fuel in oil-burning lamps. Lampante oil is mostly used in the industrial market for cosmetics and soaps.
How is Olive Oil Produced?
1) The olives are harvested manually or mechanically using hand rakes to motorised tree shaking harvesters to remove olives from trees efficiently and effectively when the olives turn a purple to light black colour.
2) The olives are then sorted into varieties and washed or rinsed to remove any dirt and leaves that may have been collected in the harvesting process.
3) The olives are then crushed including the seed using a modern day hammer mill crushing system using 316 grade stainless steel hammers to pulverise the entire olive producing an olive paste ready for oil extraction. Some more advanced and innovative systems allow for a specialised roller crusher method that avoids too much heat creation in the crushing process to retain the volatile aroma compounds in the olive oil.
4) The olive paste is then spun at high speeds exceeding 3600 RPM in a circular manner to spin the olive oil out of the paste using microjets of pure water to separate the oil from the solids at high centrifugal speeds.
5) The olive oil is then settled for up to 6 weeks in tall stainless steel tanks to allow the solids to settle out of the oil gently using gravity. The oil is then stored long term in stainless steel tanks with Nitrogen covering or packaged into bottles, casks or tins.
Olive Oil Mill - Traditional Type
Olive Oil Tanks - 30kl