How to Make Homemade Olive Oil

At present, Olive Oil is known to be “the oil to have today”, not just because ancient Greeks called it as liquid gold but because of its nutritional and highly moisturizing factors. Almost 750 million olive trees are being cultivated worldwide mainly for olive oil production and some for the fruit consumption itself. People that are diabetic and have high blood problems prefer to use olive oil than the regular cooking oil that has been used for a very long time. Though it may seem to be more expensive than the regular oil, but this is just because of its medicinal value.

As a result Olive Oils are widely used around the world, not only for cooking but also for skin care and medicinal use. There are different kinds of this healthy oil that are already available in the market, all you have to do is pick one that you like most, pay for it and use it. But since making olive oil from home is now possible, I bet some people prefer to make their own olive oil though it will take much more time and effort. So for those who are willing to learn on how to make olive oil from scratch and at home, below are discussions and a step by step guide on how to produce you own olive oil. You can either make this for personal use or you can sell it and enhance your entrepreneur side.

Do’s and Don’ts

But before we go to the step by step guide on how to make olive oil, let’s first discuss the dos and don’ts in making your own olive oil. So first, you’ll need about four to five kilos to produce at least one liter. Second is the color of the olives. When the olive is still green it means that it is still young and is not yet fully developed and ripened. So using green olives will make you oil bitter. While black or velvety black olives means that they are ripe and that these are more preferably used in making olive oils. But you have to choose your black olives properly. You have to choose the ones that are just perfectly ripened and not the ones that are overly ripe because it will produce rancid oils. Olive oil can also be used in cooking pastas. A lot of pastas are now olive oil based and a lot of people prefer this than pastas with white sauce. Pastas that are olive oil based are more nutritious and lighter. Some also prefer using olive oil for frying than the conventional corn oil, just because of the fact that it has more nutritional value than any other oil. You should also try replacing butter or margarine with this oil in cooking. There are also different kinds of variations that you can choose from. Some of these variations are extra virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil, olive oil, olive pomace oil, refined olive oil and lampante or strong oil. There are also infused olive oils like garlic infused olive oil and rosemary infused olive oil.

Making the Olive Oil:

Making Olive Oil from scratch or at home is very convenient since equipments that are used for extracting oil are now available in the market. It can either be a hobby mill or equipment that uses mill stones. Using this kind of equipments will definitely lessen the time of production and it has less wastage. All you need in making olive oils are ripened olives. If you live far from countries that produce or plant olives you really need to have a good supply order. Using olives that are prepacked, treated or preserved are not advisable when making olive oils; you really have to get the fresh ones. For better production you have to use the fresh olives before twenty-four hours. If your fresh olives are already on hand, the first thing that you have to do is clean them thoroughly, leaving nothing but the fruit itself. You have to take away all the stems and leaves and especially the dirt and dust since this may ruin or destroy the oil. After cleaning the olives, you have to make a course paste by grounding the olives using the equipment that you bought from the market (hobby mill or mill stones). Using the mill stones or the traditional way will cause you more time and effort in production. Basically it takes 30-40 minutes. If you will not complete the 30-40 minute grinding it may result to a raw paste and less oil will be extracted. While grinding for more than the allotted time which is 30-40 minutes will mean more oxidation of the paste and may reduce the flavor of the oil. On the other hand, using the hobby mill or the modern way will take less time in grinding than using the one with mill stones. Basically it will just take you 20 minutes in grinding before going to the other step. Malaxation is essential in mixing because it will help bring the microscopic oil molecules together into bigger sized droplets. When you have successfully grounded all the olives, you have to then push or press the course paste twice. First is to separate the water and the oil from the fruit, and second is using the Centrifugation process. This process is basically using the centrifugal force or rotating something in a fixed axis to separate the liquids from the solids. In order to achieve the process, you have to use the Centrifuge; equipment that basically works using an electric motor, has two exits, one for the liquid and one for the solid and is now available in the market. To lengthen the shelf life of you olive oil you have to strain them to take away remaining solid particles.

And that’s it; you have made your own olive oil. Enjoy your home made olive oil and try to share this with your friends and colleagues.