It is common knowledge at this point that extra virgin olive oil is the best grade. It is also the only kind I use, besides its deeper, more olive taste, it is the purest and least chemically altered.
Also available for Sydney customers in SHOP - (outside NSW - Check for distributors in your area listed below)
According to the international Olive Oil Council, which is the standard setter for most oil producing countries, (excluding the USA), an olive oil can be labelled extra virgin if it 1) has being mechanically extracted from the oil, meaning no chemicals or heat were used; 2) has 1% acidity or less; and 3) has no defects in flavor and aroma (as determined by the panel of professional olive oil tasters who are trained to detect flaws, such as musty, winy, or muddy-sediment qualities).
Along with the words “extra virgin”, other terms may appear on the label. Here’s what they mean.
Cold pressed: This means the oil was extracted from the olives without using heat or chemicals; by definition, all extra virgin olive oil is cold pressed. The term does not distinguish between artisanal oil extraction methods, as used in the Torrevella property and the automated presses used by large scale producers.
First pressing: This is a obligation for an extra virgin oil. The best olive oils come from the first and only pressing of the fruit. The only way we do.
Unfiltered olive oil: This is a matter of preference, not a measure of quality. Some producers feel that unfiltered olive oil as more flavor, just as some people prefer orange juice with pulp. Unfiltered olive oils may be slightly cloudy or have sediment at the bottom of the bottle.
Region or single region oil: This means that the olives used to make the olive oil were grown on a single farm. The characteristics of these olive oils varies from year to year, depending on weather and soil conditions, which I think is part of their appeal.
Unless an extra virgin oil is marked as a region or state or single region oil, it may be a blend of oils from many farms and types of olive, but it can still be a top quality oil.
The big commercial producers almost always blend oils made from ripe and unripe fruit, and from many regions and countries. This is not a sign of an inferior oil, nor is it a compromise.
These producers offer perfectly good, consistent oils that are fine as “bulk” cooking oils, but they are not oil of grand distinction, and they would not be the ones you would want to showcase in a special meal. You can use these less expensive extra virgin oils for sautéing or baking, or whenever the flavor of the oil is not the main interest. The varietal character of a grade oil fades in heat, so save your best oils to anoint a dish after or toward the end of cooking, to dress salads, or just to drizzle over bread.
A lesser grade is just called “olive oil”. Previously called “pure olive oil”, or “100% olive oil”, this is made from olive oil that did not qualify as extra virgin. It is refined to remove the impurities and then blended with a small percentage of extra virgin olive oil; its acidity must be less than 1.5%. Olive pomace oil is an inferior grade of oil made from the leftover paste after olives have been pressed, and it is nothing you’d ever find in my party.
The four enemies of olive oil are age, heat, air and light. Your best bet for keeping these enemies at bay, even before you bring the oil home, is to buy from a scrupulous retailer who is passionate and knowledgeable about olive oil. Note where the oil is shelved; if it is kept under bright lights or near a window, pass. Also try to find out the oil’s acidity and harvest year, which give a clue to freshness. Among high-end extra virgin olive oils, it is becoming more common to find this information on the label; if not, ask the shop’s olive oil buyer, who should know.
Acidity level. A true extra virgin olive oil can’t surpass 1% acidity, the measurement refers to the amount of free fatty acid in the oil. Some oils fall well below that limit, bottoming out at about 0.2% acidity, as we do in Torrevella. Such small differences are significant, not because lower acidity indicates that the olives were of high quality, handled properly, and crushed quickly after picking, as we do at Torrevella, the process should be completed within the 24 hours from picking.
Harvest year. Unlike fine wine, olive oil does not improve with age. Ideally, buy oil from the most recent harvest.
Olives are usually harvested in autumn and winter, if you are buying in the summer of 2000, the best you can do is purchase from the 1999 harvest. The higher end of the scale may be made with hand picked olives and artisanal pressing methods.
Once the bottle is opened, use it. Olive oil does not turn rancid as quickly as nut oil, but after several months, its flavour will deteriorate, mainly with high quality one’s as Torrevella, the fruity and fresh flavour will be lost. Store the olive oil in cool, dark place, away from the stove. The refrigerator is too cool: water can condense on the lid and drip back into the oil, altering its flavor.
HOW THE OLIVES GET FROM THE TREE TO THE TIN.
Not too much has changed in the cultivation of olives in the past few thousand years. Olive trees are hardy and can withstand craggy conditions, little water, and lots of wind and sun. They are fairly low maintenance, usually needing pruning once a year at harvest time. As with any agricultural crop, weather and soil conditions play a big role in the outcome. But it is during the harvest and pressing that a small producer can really control the oil’s quality and style, as we do.
Olives are harvested from September through January. In our orchards depending on the weather conditions it can be from middle September to early October, the starting point.
Olives bruise easily, so they must be picked with care. Hand picking and special picking machines in special farms are the best ways and the most labor-intensive methods.
Once they are collected, the olives are rushed to the mill for pressing. If they are not crushed within 24 hours, they will oxidize and start to ferment, which can make the oil acidic, produce off flavours, and lead to rancidity.
To extract the oil, olives are first crushed and then pressed. The more traditional crushing method, between gargantuan granite stones, producer and olive paste that is mixed and spread on round mats. The mats are then stacked on top of one another like an old fashioned photograph, pressure is applied, and liquids drip from the circumference of the mats and are collected in a moat-like trough at the base of the press.
From the base, the liquids usually proceed to a centrifuge, where the water in the olive, called vegetable water, is separated from the oil. It is important to get the water away from the oil quickly to avoid fermentation.
Also it a more advanced process is available to make the process short and avoid as much as possible the exposure of the fruits to the air and then the oxidizing process.
This is a general view of the process, preservation, information to identify and know the different offers in the market and the way we do our best in Torrevella.
Prepared to keep our people well updated about olive oil.
