PRESERVATION of olive oil

Olive oil is a living product, therefore we must take speacial care when it comes to storing it, if the oil is stored in poor conditions it can be subject to some altering changes (rancidity, etc) in order to avoid these changes the storage tanks in the olive oil mills must meet the following standards:

                - To be made of waterproof material to allow for washing before filling new olive oil.

                - To be made of a material that makes them incapable of reacting with the oil.

                - They do not absorb odors.

                - They don't contain materials that accelerate rancidity.

                - They are impervious to light and moisture.

                - That they maintain a constant temperature, ideally around 15 º C. Since higher temperatures promote rancidity in olive oil.

 Stainless steel tanks, which preserves the olive oil before being bottled.

During the storage the oil can develop a layer of insoluble material that could ferment and give a bad smell to olive oil. To prevent this from happening the oil should be strained, and this treatment sometimes must be repeated several times before bottling. In these operations one must seek to expose the oil to the air for as short a time as possible, to prevent oxidation or rancidity.

 Once bottled the oil is now ready for distribution, sale and subsequent consumption. Olive oil should be packaged in glass, plastic or brass to be as airtight as possible so as not to alter the great features of the product.

Olive oil so that it retains its excellent properties, should not be stored for long periods of time, if this happens it should always be kept in a place without excessive heat or humidity and away from sunlight and strong odors, since the oil has the unique property of quickly absorbing strong odors, and these can be very harmful to the characteristics of this so-called liquid gold.