making of olive oil with the traditional method

With this olive oil making of production method  the same processes that with the continuous method is used  but with its own peculiarities:

                        1- Storage of olives: After the olive harvest, they are kept in boxes that allow air to come in and out waiting to be crushed. It is advisable not to wait too much time between the harvest of the olive and the making of the olive oil process.

                        2- Washing of olives: Olives are washed to eliminate the impurities and small strange things that could have.

                        3- Crushing: Olives are introduced in the stone mills to be crushed, after this they are introduced in a press to take out olive oil.

With the traditional method, olives are crushed as old times, this means, with stone mills.

                        4- Press: Consists in pressing the olive paste, for this olive paste caps are introduced separated by baskets (circular plates of interlaced esparto). Pressing the liquid content of the olive is  liberated.
 

Press machine used in the traditional method to make olive oil

5 - La decanting:  Takes place after the paste has passed for the traditional press. It is left to rest to separate the watery part of olives from oil. In this phase the alpechín oil separates.
 

Olive oil decanting to separate alpechin olive oil

                          6-  Olive oil storage and bottling: Clean olive oil storage must be made in stainless steel tanks. To avoid mellow flavours  or cloudiness this deposits must be made of a inert, darken and waterproof materials and must not absorb smells. Temperature must be between 15ºC.

Stainless steel tank to keep olive oil before bottling to be sold

In Bajo Aragon there are traditional presses, which coexist with the modernity, that is to say, with the need to bet for increasing markets,. This market needs has mechanized this process, giving place to the appearance of the continuous method. The final product that iss obtained from the traditional method of olive oil production, is a great quality olive oil, which has kept through time, generation after generation of olive groves from Low Aragon  have obtained this liquid gold.