The olive trees are fed exclusively by the natural elements. The harvesting is done by hand/stick and this permits the selection of the finest quality olives. The cold press method used is known as the 'ciclo continuo', a new procedure that avoids oxidation or deterioration to the oil. It is only after this process that a very low acidity olive oil is obtained - which of course means the purest, cleanest taste. The above-mentioned process takes to one to two hours to produce 50/60 liters of oil. (13.2 to 18.8 gallons)
The olive oil from the Ligurian Coast is famous worldwide for its excellence and digestibility.
It comes from olive groves which prosper in the particularly mild climate of our region. Olive oil which is completely pure and unadulterated and its the result of our tradition of generations who have worked with passion to satisfy the demand.
Our olive oil is the product of stone grinding the taggiasche olives and a subsequent cold pressing. This particular oil does not undergo any rectification or filtering, it can in time, decant and leave a slight deposit. The deposit indicates the purity of the oil.
The way in which the olives are picked is very important. It has to be done using specific methods in order to obtain a good-quality oil. The best way is definitely the milking off ("brucatura") method, that is to say, picking the olives off the branches by hand, sometimes with the help of small, comb-like tools. Unfortunately, this system has a considerable impact on the cost of growing, since picking proceeds very slowly. Another method is by "abbacchiatura", that is to say beating the branches with rods or canes. This consists of making the olives fall into nets spread under the trees.
This method has the drawback, it damages the youngest branches of the trees. The traditional method of gathering the olives from the ground or the nets after the ripened drupes have fallen naturally is not advisable, since the quality of the oil obtained from these olives is poor. In the province of Imperia, the size of the trees and the terraced layout of the agricultural land make mechanical picking almost impossible. In the last few years a beating system using combs operated by compressed air has in any case spread. The size of the compressor, however, is such that the operation is rather difficult where the strip of land is not sufficiently wide. In addition, the contorted shapes into which the branches of the trees grow, makes it difficult to move the pipes and rods.
Immediately after picking, care must be taken in transporting and storing the fruit removed from the trees. It is necessary to avoid crushing and squashing, since this could trigger off harmful biochemical processes. The fruit has to be processed as soon as possible, best of all within 24 hours. This will avoid some of the most common organoleptic flaws of oil caused by overheating and mold as well as rancidity. Upon arriving at the oil mill, first the olives are sorted to remove any leaves, branches and pebbles, then they are washed in special machines.
The next stages are crushing ("frangitura"), malaxing ("gramolatura"), extraction of the oil and separation.
Traditional Olive Press: Discontinuous System
Pressing or milling ("molitura") is carried out by means of millstones (molazza), that is to say the large granite wheels (they once used to be made of local stone, often so-called "colombina"), that crush the stones and flesh of the olives to help release the oil. Then comes the malaxing phase, in which the paste is stirred to help the small drops of oil combine with one another.
Extraction
The paste is placed inside round bag-like containers (pressa) which have a central hole, in the shape of filtering panels made of vegetable fiber or nylon called "fiscoli", which are piled onto a cylinder and placed inside the press. The oil mixed with vegetable water then drips out of them. It used to be necessary to wait for the oil to come to the top by spontaneous surfacing. Nowadays, however, the product is centrifuged in a machine (separatore) that causes mechanical separation in order to avoid the formation of peroxides, and undesired enzymatic activity
The virgin oil obtained in this way (1st press) is then allowed to settle or filtered to eliminate the dregs, that is to say all the residues suspended in it, since they could cause a series of anaerobic fermentation processes that would produce organoleptic flaws in the oil. Seeing as this particular oil does not undergo any rectification or filtering in can, in time, decant and leave a slight deposit. This deposit indicates the purity of the oil.
Continuous Extraction System
In this case, the olives are smashed by hammer-type or similar crushing devices. The paste then automatically passes into the malaxing container ("gramola") where it is stirred. This is a delicate phase, since it is necessary to avoid overheating, as this would catalyze a process causing the oil to oxidize. The partly processed product obtained in this way is then conveyed to a horizontal-axis centrifugal extractor that separates the olive-pomace (solid phase) from the mixture of oil and vegetable water.
