How is olive oil produced?

Olive oil is in the Mediterranean for thousands of years of basic food and some olive trees that are hundreds of years old, still carry fruit. The process for the production of this product is relatively simple, especially because it is practiced in rural areas of Greece and Italy. The commercial processing of olives is somewhat more complicated, but still relies on the same basic principle: crushing olives that release the oil trapped inside. The process can also be used to extraction of nuts and grains oils. Traditionally, olive trees were manually beaten to release fruit, although many processors today use commercial machines to remove trees. Once the olives are selected, the clock begins to tick: it must be brought to the olive mill as soon as possible, or the acidity level increases too high, which eventually affects the taste. After being brought to the mill, the olives are selected to remove large branches and leaves, and then sent by a cleaner that removes dirt, leaves and twigs and leaves simple olives behind.

cleaned olives walk through a mill that turns them into a paste. Traditionally producing olive oil still uses a stone mill for olive mills, although commercial processors have turned into high volume metal grinders that can operate continuously. The resulting paste is subjected to the malaxation process, which means it is slowly mixed so that the oil droplets begin to follow other droplets in the mixture.

After mixing, the olive paste is under pressure to extract liquid oil together with water from the fruit and leave the paste or molding behind. The oil is separated from the water, usually in centrifugation, and into the bottles when the water is discarded. The resulting olive oil is called a virgin because it is produced through purely mechanical technique. Olive oils with acid levels measured at less than 1% are considered "extra virgin" and usually have a particularly rich and intense taste. Those with higher acid levels (1-3%) are marked as "virgin".

refined olive oil was chemically treated to reduce acidity. Sometimes olives that have been allowed to sit too long before processing create high acid oil that must be refined. This reduces the oil value, so farmers try to avoid whenever possible. Poseda can be chemically processed for extraction of more olive oil, which is usually mixed with other oils or used for processes such as soap production.