From Olives to Oil, Italian Life

November 11, 2009 | Rome, Italy | Vetting explained

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alisonv

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Last updated: November 12, 2009

CNN producer note

alisonv told me that she 'found it fascinating to watch the process from olive to oil. The scent of crushed olives and is a little overwhelming when you first go in, but I love olive oil, so I didn't find it unpleasant. It was interesting to watch the dripping of the oil because the olive has both water and oil inside. If you look carefully at the slow-motion scene of the press, you can see that some of the drops are reddish and some look golden. That's because both substances are being crushed out of the olives. The oil and water separate, of course.'
- hhanks, CNN iReport producer

iReport —

After submitting a recent iReport on the olive harvest, I was even more curious about how the olive is transformed into that most precious substance - extra virgin olive oil. I went to an olive press (frantoio) which uses traditional methods to press the olives without using heat.

Castelli Romani is not the most famous region in Italy for olive oil, but I think it should be better known. It produces a smooth, full-flavored oil with very little acidity. The men of the Società Agricolo Cooperativa Frantoio Sociale of Velletri were kind enough to give us a tour and explain the traditional process they use.

A Sig. Pontecorvo was pressing his oil at the time and we also spoke to him about the process. As we were leaving, he came over to the car and said, "Can you wait 10 minutes? My oil is almost ready and I wanted to make you a present of a few liters." It goes without saying that we waited. Wonderful!

For more on Italian Life, see my budding website at: www.undertheitaliansky.com

I'm just getting started on it so there is much more to come.

Posted in Assignment:
Travel Snapshots

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