Information About Olive Oil

TYPES OF OLIVE OIL
Generally, olive oil is extracted by pressing or crushing olives. Olive oil comes in different varieties, depending on the amount of processing involved, the method used, and the quality of the fruit. Varieties include:

• Extra virgin – considered the best, generally comprising of oil from the first pressing of top quality olives
• Virgin – from the second pressing or lower quality olives
• Ordinary virgin/Pure – from lower quality olives, often undergoes some processing, such as filtering and refining, still fit for human consumption
• Light/Extra light – undergoes considerable processing and filtering, retains a very mild olive flavour. Fit for human consumption
• Lampante – for refining or technical use, not fit for human consumption,also used as a fuel to light candles

HOW OLIVE OIL IS CLASSIFIED
Olive oil undergoes both chemical and smell/taste tests to determine its grade or classification. The oil is tested for taste and aroma. These are known as the organoleptic qualities of the oil. Chemical testing consists of testing for free fatty acid content in the oil, and peroxide content of the oil. These test results reflect the quality of the oil, and the olives it was produced from, and can also give an indication of storage and production methods. Oils which have been produced from poor quality olives or by the excessive use of heat, will have higher acid and peroxide test results. The same can be said for oil which is stored in contact with heat, light and outside air, or simply oil which is too old and is breaking down.

• Extra virgin – must have perfect taste and aroma, a free fatty acid content under 0.8% and a peroxide value below 20.
• Virgin – high standards of aroma and flavour, and a free fatty acid content under 2%
• Ordinary virgin/Pure – some standard of aroma and flavour and a free fatty acid content between 2 and 3.3%
• Light/Extra light – mild aroma and flavour when compared to higher grades of oil, with a free fatty acid content under 3.3%
• Lampante – free fatty acid content of over 3.3%

HOW OLIVE OIL IS PRODUCED
Olive oil is obtained from the fruit of the olive tree by pressing or crushing olives, and then seperating the desired olive oil from the rest of the olive fruit. No other ingredients are added. Traditionally, hand operated pressed were used, but due to the manual labour required and slow production capabilities, these have made way for modern processing equipment, sometimes referred to as continuous processing plants, which can process many tonnes of fruit per hour.

The term ‘continuous’ refers to the fact that olives are added at one end and oil comes out of the other in a mechanized process with no manual labour involved. There are many manufactures of processing plants with slightly different methods used to seperate the oil from the fruit, but they all follow the same basic formula: typically the olives are washed, then crushed to produce a paste. The oil is then separated from the rest of the paste with decanters which generally use centrifugal force. The paste is spun at high speeds in these decanters and the heavy waste products seperate from the oil. The oil is then collected for bottling or storage.

Larger amounts of olive oil are typically stored in holding tanks and containers which can be made of stainless steel or plastic. This is done to prevent contact with light and outside air which can break down the oil even before bottling takes place.

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