Read the story behind our own-produced Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Mauro from the frantoia is pleased. A 20% extraction rate is the best you can expect.

Our first production of extra virgin olive oil is complete – and for us, it feels euphoric :-) We will bring 40–50 liters of this noble liquid back home to Larkollen sometime in February. We look forward to sharing this flavorful and exclusive olive oil with family, friends, and other olive oil enthusiasts

The olive oil isn’t quite like the one you see in regular stores. It looks a bit cloudy through clear glass. That’s because the flavor particles haven’t been filtered out. They eventually settle as a small amount of sediment at the bottom of the bottle. And that is exactly how Italians prefer it. They like to shake the bottle a little before using it, to get all the good stuff. If the oil is bottled in clear glass, it has a greenish tint for the first few days, but eventually becomes darker as the chlorophyll fades. The bottle on the left is the very first test bottle for our own household use. The rest is stored in light-proof barrels and jugs before being transported home and bottled. The dark green bottle type we are so used to at home is precisely made to prevent light from entering and to preserve the aroma.

These fantastic olive trees that we love, that I love. André has brought a bit of bad weather with him, but his olives are fantastic. They will produce a lot of oil.

WATCH VIDEO OF THE HARVEST AND COLD PRESSING AT THE LOCAL FRANTOIA

This is how we harvest olives and cold press them into olive oil

It’s the result that counts

The olive oil is finally ready, and it tastes wonderful. Now it will rest in jerry cans for a couple of weeks while the sediment settles at the bottom. But that’s exactly how Italians like it. The more sediment, the better the flavor. The clear olive oil you buy in stores labeled “extra virgin” is, according to Italians, absolutely not that. It is diluted, filtered, and contains a bunch of preservatives and various E-numbers. Real extra virgin olive oil is harvested and cold pressed the same day under massive millstones. And that is exactly what we will soon be serving family and friends in Larkollen :-)

Freshly pressed! The first oil is bottled. It will be stored here in Italy for our own enjoyment.