Harvesting the Olives
Optimal Timing: The key to our superior extra virgin olive oil is harvesting the olives at their peak ripeness. We closely monitor the olives’ color and firmness, ensuring they are picked at the perfect moment.
Handpicking: To maintain the highest quality, our olives are handpicked. This gentle method prevents bruising and ensures that only the best olives are selected. Workers carefully place the olives in baskets to avoid any damage.
Swift Transport to the Mill
Quick Processing: Immediately after harvesting, the olives are transported to our mill within a few hours. This rapid transition prevents fermentation and oxidation, crucial for preserving the olives’ freshness and quality.
Thorough Washing
Cleaning: At the mill, the olives are washed with clean, potable water to remove any dirt, leaves, and debris. This step ensures that our oil is pure and free from contaminants.
Gentle Crushing
Crusher Elevator: is designed to bring the clean olives to the Crusher which is mounted onto the malaxer. Crusher Elevator is connected to the Control Panel. Crusher Elevator is fed with washed or cleaned olives. All of them are made of stainless steel.
Working principle: The cleaned olives coming from the olive washer are collected in the hopper and transferred to the crusher feeding hopper by means of screw. Crusher Elevator is driven by a gearmotor rotating at constant speed. Therefore, the olive flow and the load to the crusher can be regulated by adjusting the capacity of the olive belt conveyor.
Careful Malaxation
The Malaxer is an assembly where olive paste is mixed to release oil, vegetation water, and solids for extraction. It consists of:
- Helical Screw: Mixes paste.
- Water Jacket: Maintains temperature.
- Anti-condensation Window: Visual control.
- Stainless Steel: Food-grade quality.
- Control Panel: Manages parameters.
Working Principle
- Filling:
Manual: Crusher on Malaxer, dispenses olives via screw.
Automatic: External crusher, olives via pneumatic valves. - Kneading: Screw kneads paste to release oil.
- Discharge: Paste transferred to decanter by operator control.
- Safety: Sensors prevent overload, signal when empty.
- Cleaning: Manual water spray pipes.
- Temperature Control: Adjustable water jacket temperature.
Cold Pressing
The Piston Pump is a positive displacement pump used for pumping large quantities, reaching high elevations, or moving less viscous products. It's ideal for loading malaxers or moving sludge in 2-phase plants. It has a robust cast iron structure with stainless steel (AISI 304) contact parts.
Working Principle
- Operation: The piston alternates within a pressure chamber to pump pomace.
- Control: Level sensors manage pomace level; can be connected to a control panel.
- Protection: Automatically adds dilution water to prevent motor overload.
Efficient Separation
Centrifugation: The mixture is spun in a centrifuge to separate the oil from the water and solids. This results in pure extra virgin olive oil, with no additives or chemicals.
Precision Filtering
Purification: The freshly extracted oil is filtered to remove any remaining particles. This ensures that the oil is clear, pure, and ready for consumption.
Rigorous Quality Control
Testing: Before bottling, our extra virgin olive oil undergoes comprehensive quality control tests. Experts evaluate the oil’s taste, aroma, and chemical composition to ensure it meets the stringent standards required for extra virgin classification.
Optimal Storage
Proper Storage: The filtered olive oil is stored in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperatures. This environment protects the oil from light and heat, preserving its quality and flavor until it is ready for bottling.
Careful Bottling
Packaging: Our extra virgin olive oil is bottled in dark glass containers or other light-resistant packaging. This protects the oil from light exposure, which can degrade its quality. The bottles are sealed to maintain freshness and integrity.