The stages of the production process
The care in the method throughout all the processing phases, from pruning to manual harvesting from the trees, to the transformation, filtering and packaging of the finished product contribute to the production of GRAN PREGIO, certified organic and excellent oil.
The collection
Harvesting olives for pressing is a delicate operation that affects the quality of the oil. The degree of ripeness of the olive, and therefore the choice of the moment of harvest, positively determines the organoleptic characteristics of the oil. The harvested olives are taken to our mill and pressed immediately.
The transformation
The transformation process is carried out with a latest-generation MORI TEM 2-phase continuous cycle plant and takes place in phases:
Defoliation and washing of olives
The defoliation and washing of olives is a necessary step to avoid the presence of defects in the oil. The passage of branches can cause the woody defect, if green leaves pass they can generate astringency or medicinal bitterness, if dry leaves pass they can generate dry sensations. If the olives are not washed well you can notice the earth defect.
the Crushing
This is the most important phase and is necessary to release the oil contained in the cellular vacuoles; this way a mixture is formed consisting of a liquid part (oil and water) and a solid part (stones, peels and pulp). We use a knife crushing system and by appropriately regulating the rotation speed we can intervene on the organoleptic properties of our GRAN PREGIO.
the Gramolatura
The mixture is mixed inside vertical steel tanks, called gramole, with the aim of promoting the aggregation of the oil droplets. Long kneading times and high temperatures (35°C) lead to higher quantitative yields but lower quality. For GRAN PREGIO BIO the kneading takes place at a temperature of about 23°C and lasts less than 15 minutes with the aim of having a high quality oil.
the Extraction
Extraction occurs by centrifugation using a two-outlet decanter. The 2-outlet system (oil and wet pomace), compared to the 3-outlet systems (oil, vegetation water, pomace), allows for higher contents of biophenols, pigments and aromas.
the filtration
The extracted oil, before being stored in silos in the absence of oxygen, is filtered to ensure greater organoleptic stability and to maintain the green color of the oil for longer.
the bottling
Using cutting-edge techniques, we bottle our oil according to regulations, guaranteeing freshness and authenticity.
