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What affects olive oil quality and flavour?
The following are some of the main areas that one should consider when producing quality olive oil:
- Cultivars and Location: A good quality cultivar that is suitable to the farm’s location, altitude, climate, and soil
- Tree care: Healthy pruning that considers the years to come, healthy pest management (prevention, monitoring and treatment that is friendly to the surrounding flora and fauna), nutritional compensation in cases of shortfall, weeding (via ploughing), pitting, etc.
- Harvesting: Most suitable start date, ensuring fruit skin integrity, protecting the tree’s branches for next year’s harvest
- Handling: Minimal mechanical forces exerted on picked fruits, hygiene, aerated containers, minimum handling time to press
- Press: Hygiene and cleanliness from input hopper to filling, pressing rate, pressing temperature, pressing method
- Container: Hygiene, inert material in contact with oil, proper sealing
- Storage: Avoid heat and direct sunlight, below 21oC (ideally at 14oC), avoid rust-inducing conditions (in case of metal containers)
- Expiry Date: Consume within 18 months