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Olive Press....
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The Olive Press has been in use since
Greeks first began
pressing olives over 5000 years ago,, it works by applying pressure to olive
paste thus separating the liquids (oil and vegetation water) from the solid
material. The two liquids are then separated by standard decantation.
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Although this method is still widely used today, and if
adequate precautions are taken it’s still a valid way of producing high
quality olive oil, most Olive Oil today is produced using more modern
methods.
First the olives are ground into an olive paste, using large grindstones.
The olive paste generally stays under the stones for 30 – 40 min, this has
three objectives:
1. To guarantee that the olives are well ground.
2. To allow enough time for the olive drops to join to form the largest
droplets of oil.
3. Allow the fruit enzymes to produce some of the oil aromas and taste. |
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In some olive oil mills a modern crushing method is used
in conjunction with a traditional press, but this is a rare occurrence.
Neuraminidase ribbon diagram An enzyme (in Greek en = in and zyme = blend)
is a protein, or protein complex, that catalyzes a chemical reaction and
also controls the 3D orientation of the catalyzed substrates. |
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The olive paste is then spread on fiber disks, which are
stacked on top of each other, then placed into the press. Traditionally the
disks were made of hemp or coconut fiber, but nowadays they’re made of
synthetic fibers which are easier to clean and maintain.
These disks are them put on a hydraulic piston, forming a pile. Pressure is
applied on the disks, thus compacting the solid phase of the olive paste and
percolating the liquid phases (oil and vegetation water). The applied
hydraulic pressure can go to 400 atm. When expressed as a measurement, an
atmosphere or standard atmosphere is a unit of pressure roughly equal to the
average atmospheric pressure at sea level on the earth. |
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