How is Carbonell olive oil produced?

In what way is Carbonell olive oil produced?
The olive oil of Carbonell is produced in Cordoba. It is produced from carefully selected olives, ripened under the Spanish sun. In order to guarantee the excellent quality of Carbonell olive oil, it is necessary to pick the olives at the moment that the olives are optimally ripe.

Way of harvesting
There are still many olive farmers who harvest the ecological way: The olives are carefully beaten out of the olive trees using long sticks. The olives then fall onto a soft canvas cloth to prevent bruising. In recent years also more modern ways of harvesting have been developed. Thus, there are now modern agricultural tools (machines) which grasp an olive tree and shake back-and-forth until the olives fall down from the trees. Also with this method the olives fall onto a soft canvas cloth.

As soon as possible pressing
An important advantage of working with modern agricultural implements is that the olives are quickly picked which ultimately is to the benefit of the quality of the olive oil. It is important not to damage the olives and have them pressed as quickly as possible, otherwise it is no longer possible to obtain a high-quality Extra Virgin olive oil. For that reason we press at Carbonell within 24 hours of picking.

Select and separate
After picking, the olives are transported, as soon as possible, to a modern olive oil mill. Here the olives are selected on the olive variety, quality and maturity. Thereafter, in a careful manner, the olives are separated from leaves, stems and twigs in order to be washed.

Olive Paste
After washing the olives they are crushed, including the pit. The olive paste then produced is gently kneaded using modern implements. This kneading is important to give maximum flavour and character to the olive oil that eventually is obtained from the paste. The olive paste is put in a large drum which separates the olive oil and water (because an olive is made up of olive oil and pulp but also includes water)from the olive paste.

To spin-dry
In a smaller drum, the olive oil is then separated from the water. This drum rotates at a high speed so that the lighter olive oil is separated from the heavier fluid (water). This final process is also called “to spin-dry.”

The olive oil is now ready to be tested and approved.