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The transformation process

The process of transforming olives into 100% Italian extra virgin oil involves several operations that are preparatory to each other and studied in detail.

The collection

Olive harvesting in Puglia generally begins from October through December. Salento olives are harvested directly from the tree at the right degree of ripeness, called veraison. The method of harvesting used depends on the plant; it can be partly mechanical by shaking and partly by hand, through hand plucking. Olives in the Apulian tradition are placed in ventilated crates and taken immediately to the olive mill for processing. This stage is very important to avoid the start of fermentation and oxidation. To obtain thequality extra virgin olive oil grown in Salento, every moment of processing must be carefully monitored, controlled in its critical points as an error in the processing phase would decisively affect the quality of the product and would be difficult to recover.

Defoliation and washing

One of the first operations for processing into extra virgin oil after the olive harvest is defoliation, which is important to remove rotten leaves and twigs that happened during the harvest. Washing the olives is important to eliminate "dirt" and "earthy" hints in Apulian oil, which is obtained from olives with traces of soil, as well as essential to preserve the frangible organs from abnormal wear and tear.

Crushing

Crushing represents an important critical point for the quality of extra virgin olive oil, since it affects the organoleptic and health properties of the artisanal product of Apulian tradition that is Salento oil. Olives from the Apulian land undergo a mechanical crushing process that produces a strong tearing and shredding action of pulp, stone and skin. This makes it possible to obtain a product of the highest quality, which does not undergo changes in its organoleptic properties, thus maintaining high quality and hygienic standards of the typical Salento product.

Gramolazione

Gramolatura represents another key point in the extraction process. During the gramolatura operation, the paste of Salento olives, in order to promote a positive enzymatic action, is kept at a temperature of 24-27° c is subjected to a slow agitation that promotes the aggregation of the original oil of Salento into droplets of a size that allows subsequent separation by centrifugation.

Extraction

Extraction systems can significantly affect the compositional and organoleptic profile of theextra virgin olive oil and in particular on the aromatic substances and minor antioxidant components. Our continuous centrifugation process allows us to obtain a high presence of phenolic substances in the Apulian oil, which are important for our organism, and thanks also to a careful and accurate separation of the extra virgin oil carried out by constantly monitored machinery, we are able to obtain a high quality product, original to the land of Salento.