EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING TECHNIQUES IN PUGLIA

As a result of the long experience accumulated over many centuries, it is well known that both the method of picking the olives and the method of transporting them and of subsequently milling them are stages of fundamental importance if we want to obtain a superior quality oil. The olives from which our oil is extracted are picked by hand, without the use of any mechanical means except, possibly, small rudimentary comb-shaped tools to facilitate collection.
The olives must never touch the ground, so as to maintain low acidity. Once picked, they are transported to the olive mill in suitable perforated crates. The perishable nature of olives makes it necessary to provide optimal methods of transport and conservation and above all, fast processing - within 24 hours - to guarantee a natural product without alteration of any kind.
Good quality is connected not only with the “goodness” of the olives but also with the processing techniques. The most highly developed one in the “Bari basin” is the strict cold milling of the olives, which is obtained by pressing them through the rotating movement of large granite mill wheels at moderate speed.

Filtering: The olive may be bottled in its natural state or after filtering out the pulpy residues from the milling process. The tradition in Puglia requires that the oil should be consumed in its natural state, in order to have the full benefit of its nutritional properties. If it is filtered, the “Bari” method is used - that is, the oil is filtered by being poured through “cotton mattresses” which keep back the pulpy residues and give it a brilliant, transparent yellow colour.