The Olive Oil Truth - a quick overview, don't be fooled about the facts

There is a bit of a myth surrounding the wonderful fruit the olive.  So here is a quick bit to help understand the process.  Olives originated in the Mediterranean, there are many different varieties of olives, Spanish, Greek, Italian, Kalamata, Arbequina,    Mission, Luca, and the list goes on…and on.  These all have different characteristics and are used because of the different flavors they impart.  There is also interest in the fact that the Mission olive, for example, can produce 15 gallons of oil per ton (2000 pounds) to the other end of the scale the Arbequina can produce about 40 gallons per ton.  The Mission olive is a larger olive and is generally used to stuff, more than for its oil, a Sevillano is a medium size and often used as a table olive, the Arbequina is rather small, about the size of a women’s pinky finger nail, used for its buttery flavor and high oil production.  Some individuals purchases 100% Arbequina oil to flavor their popcorn! 

1 Day Old

As you drive around California, you will see more and more olive trees popping up.  Some of what you see is the invention of a clone of the arbequina varietal.  Olives are a handpicked crop that can be harvested any time from Halloween to Valentine ’s Day.  There are olives picked at the early end of the season; these are a combination of green and purple or black.  A black olive is not always a ripe olive.  If the olive skin is broken and air is allowed in, the olive will begin to oxidize.  The best way to test if the olive is ripe is by crushing it and feeling the oil that comes out. 

The early picks are the olives used to provide the extra virgin oils we enjoy.  True extra virgin oils are produced from olives that were picked and crushed within 24 hours of being picked.  Other characteristics of extra virgin olive oil are that the oil is obtained from the fruit of the olive tree without the use of heat or chemicals.  The olives are pressed by mechanical means at room temperature i.e. 'cold pressing", a trained tasting panel has found no odor or taste defects in the oil.  The acidity level, a measurement of how ripe the olives were when pressed, also has been checked to make sure it's below a specified level. 

1 week old

 Olives picked in the later part of the season are riper and are the olives used in flavored oils.  In October of 2010 the California Olive Oil Council put into effect that any olive oil that has anything added to it can no longer be call “extra virgin” so any favored oil may start out that way but can no longer be call extra virgin.  When it comes to flavors there are two ways to flavor, one is to add an alcohol base flavor and the other, the way we choose, is by adding the actual oil of the flavor, lemon oil, basil oil, etc.  When the alcohol base is used, there is an after taste similar to that of Nyquil.  After the crushing of the olive, there two by products, one is the water which some use to irrigate with; the other is the mush of pit, skin and meat.  Within this mush is a scant amount of oil.  They process of removing the oil from the mush is similar to the way that cocaine is made, simply said they add chemicals and then burn it off leaving behind a flavorless, heat processed olive oil.  This oil is also used in flavored oils and basic olive oil. 

Minutes after crush

One more thing to beware of, as we have been able to get more than 33 gallons of oil per ton, our costs per gallon are approximately $35.00 per gallon.  This cost does not take into consideration irrigation or pruning costs.  So if someone is attempting to tell you or sell you a gallon of oil for $20.00, there is truly something not quite right about the product.

In the USA, we are just acquiring the taste for olive oil so know what you are purchasing and the questions to ask.  But when all is said and done, let the taste show you the way to a true olive oil.