How Olive Oil Is Made (An Inside Look)

An inside look at how olive oil is made, from tree to olive to oil. Each grade is made differently. Learn exactly how your olive oil is produced, and what the differences are between each quality.

1. HOW
OLIVE OIL

IS MADE O

2. Information, produced by
y Centra Foods

A SUPPLIER OF BULK OLIVE OIL
8 EDIBLE OIL INGREDIENTS

00.689.7510

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IA 98031

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3. Put simply,
Olive oil is the
liquid that

comes from

olives.

4. Olives are a type of fruit,
that are grown on trees.

5. That makes

olive oil. 0
Just fruit juice.

6. Olives trees grow in groves,

in mild or temperate
climates.

7. The majority of these

groves are located

inthe Mediterranean.

8. Especially,

SPAIN ITALY

wes

9. But good olive oil is made
all over the world
In Courting like

ae.

10. Whenever that
happens to be
in that hemisphere.

11. Then they are harvested.

12. Some olives are

hand picked, while others
are MACHINE-HARVES TEU

13. But the debate is still out
about which harvesting
method produces

better olive oil.

14. There are many different
types of olive oil
Known as

=$

15. Each olive uanietall has

a slightly different taste.

16. Most olive oils
are made from
a blend of different

OLIVE VARIETALS.

17. Some olive oils are
produced from just one
type of olive. Those

oils are known as
MONOVARIET ALS. 1)

18. Olives are picked from
the groves and
immediately brought
to the MANUFACTURING MILL.

19. At some farms, the mill is
right on site.

20. Other mills function as a
co-op, with many farmers
bringing their olives

to one shared
mill.

21. At the mill,
the olives are washed |
in cold water.

22. Then the olives are

srushad into a paste.

23. In old world traditions,
big stones crushed

the olives.

25. In old world traditions,
the paste Was loaded on
to mats and SQUEEZED.

26. In modern times, the oil
IS spun in a centrifuge.

27. This is what a centrifuge
looks like inside.

28. It works like the spin cycle
of a washing machine,
separating the Es
oil from the
olive solids.

29. Th
this Il
IS

First press

30. But technically, it
should be called the

31. If the oil is produced
without using heat, its
known as the

32. Sometimes es

filtered to make it

crystal clear.

33. And sometimes it's not,
which is called

UNFILTERED oi =

34. This initial oil that comes
out is the purest olive oil,
and it is called

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

35. It is the highest quality

of olive oil, >
around the World.

£

36. But, to be called
EXTRA VIRGIN it has to

meet a few quality

SS]
A
A,

37. It has to have an
ACIDITY LEVEL
below 0.8

38. And it has to meet about
20+ other chemical
requirements.

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ov)
a

ee

40. A trained taste tester
makes sure that it is
Extra Virgin Olive Oil &
that the oil doesn't have
any faults.

Image © Maretta Siles, Fike

41. If he doesnt think it's up
to par, or the acidity is
above 0.8, its called

VIRGIN OLIVE OIL.

42. The reason some olive
oil turns out to be Virgin
instead of Extra Virgin
often has to do with the
weather and other >

natural factors... ER

43. like how fast the olives
begin to oxidize in the
sun after they are
harvested, or while in

transport:
¿E

44. It also just has to do with
the olives, the climate,

and how they were grown.
N

y

CA ES

>

45. Sometimes, people want
AG :
olive oil, with a

lighten color.

46. To get this light
color & taste,
virgin olive oil
is refined.

47. This is a HIGH HEAT
process that
removes a lot of
the oils color

and flavor.

48. What's left over is a
lighter. colored olive oil
that doesn't really taste
like OLIVES anymore.

Ú

49. Its also called
LIGHT-TASTING OLIVE OIL,
EXTRA LICH OLIVE OIL

or light Olive Oil

on your retail

grocery shelves.

50. NOPE.

Those names dont

mean they're low fat.

51. LIGHT-TASTING OLIVE OIL 99
66 ‘light Olive Oil
EXTRA LIGHT OLIVE OL

They are alljust names
to indicate that they're
refined olive oil.

52. If you take that J
Refined Olive Oil

and mix {
some EXTRA VIRGIN or VIRGIN
in, you've created a new
grade of olive oil.

53. “This grade is simply
called, olive oil
or sometimes,

PURE OLIVE OIL.

54. So, when you see

PURE OLIVE OIL on your
grocery shelf, its saying
that it is a particular
quality grade... Not that it
is original or authentic.

55. Pure Oline Oil is,

in fact, not the “purest”
or most original
grade of olive oil.

EXTRA VIRGIN IS!

56. Do you remember those

olive solids that

remained after the

extra virgin olive oil ®
oo

was extracted? ...
.0090

57. Those bits of olive flesh,
fruit and pit are called the

pomoce of the olive,

58. That pomace still has a
little bit of olive oil in it
that can't be SQUEEED out.
But it's in there!

O.
a

59. Kind of like ahowa
wet sponge

still has water in it, no
matter how
hard you

wring it out. QUA

60. There's a way to get this
oil out, and it would
otherwise go unused.

61. A solvent is added

to the pomace

(USUALLY HEXANE).
8 y)

62. This extracts the last

possible oil from the olive.
0

6x

Then the solvent

is remoued,

63. This is the same process
that's used to produce
conventional SOYBEAN OIL,
CANOLA OIL and many other

seeds oils in the US. (6)

64. This last remaining
grade is called
Olive Pomace Oil,
and it is the lowest
grade of olive oil.

&;

65. But it’s still

D made 100% from
We leh

4) Ko

66. It's important to choose
the right oil olive grade,
depending,on

what you ne using if for.

68. It also has a lower
smoke point.

(WHICH MEANS IT
DOESNT LOVE
HIGH HEAT COOKING).

69. ‘Pure olive oil is per
for BAKING and COOKING,
because it doesn't have a
strong flavor... ,

71. |
Olixe Pomace Oil is used in]
SOAP MAKING, RESTAURANTS 4!

MANUFACTURING
& OTHER INDUSTRIA Es)
E i

72. Sometimes, one of these
types of olive oil will be
Blended with another
type of SEED OIL. /

DU

73. These are known as

Olive Oil Blends.

A

74. You can choose any kind
of ratio of blend you like.

MADE WITH ANY KIND OF SEED OIL.
AND ANY KIND OF OLIVE OI

512

75. The most common ratios

are blends like...

75% CANOLA OIL & 25% EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
90% SOYBEAN OL & 10% OLIVE OL

95% NON-GMO CANOLA OIL & 5% EVOO

76. The bottom line is.

77. Anything with
oline oil
IS

79. Want to learn more

about olive oil >

80. Visit

www.centrafoods.com

81. And subscribe to the
Bulk Oil Blog

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82. Information produced E,
\ Centra Foods

A supplier of
BULK OILS
tothe

MANUFACTURING « DISTRIBUTION

industries

Written by Hannah Broaddus fy