The Processing

The quality and the organoleptic and nutritional characteristics of extra virgin olive oil are closely related to the degree of ripeness of the fruit at harvest, and to the adopted processing techniques.

It is for this reason that we put a lot of attention in choosing the most appropriate period for the harvesting’s stages.

Each year, from October onwards, one observes and assesses the degree of ripening of the fruit, i.e. the change of the olive’s colour, which, related to the cultivar, varies from green to purple to black. In this phase there is the greatest accumulation of volatile compounds and polyphenols; it is possible then, following the harvest activity appropriately, to obtain an oil of high quality, rich in polyphenols and with fruity characteristics.

To make the olive harvest we believe that the best method is the manual one, with simple auxiliary tools (such as olive harvesters) for an easy detachment of the fruits directly from the tree, rather than resorting to the mechanical shaking of the plant, which is harmful to the drupes and the foliage, or even worse, to the harvest of the olives from the ground.

To minimize the risk of the occurrence of oxidation processes, the harvested olives are accumulated in airy boxes, which shall be provided within 12 hours to the mill, where it is accomplished the most fascinating part of the production process: the washing of the olives, the milling, the kneading of the olive paste and finally the extraction of oil.

The latest treatments are dedicated to conservation: the produced oil, unfiltered, is left naturally to decant in steel containers, protected from light and in a controlled temperature environments; and then, after the necessary racking, one proceeds to the bottling and finally to the final packaging.

Good oil is the result of a complex process in which each phase is fundamental and decisive in order to achieve a high quality product as the extra virgin olive oil GIALÌDA is.