When the olives bloom ... from blossom to oil

The Peloponnese is simply beautiful in every season. But botany lovers should definitely visit in spring, when the olive trees are in bloom...

When the olives bloom...

The olive blossoms sit in tiny, almost invisible panicles on the branches. You practically have to search for them. They have no scent, don't attract insects, and are truly unspectacular.
It seems like a small miracle that by autumn – if all goes well – this wonderful, valuable and aromatic oil will be produced.

In Messinia, the south of the Peloponnese, the olive blossom takes place in April.

Baby olives in May

Starting in May, the inconspicuous greenish-white blossoms turn into tiny green olives. Over the course of the summer, they ripen under the blazing Hellenic sun – without ever seeing a drop of water.

Finally, in autumn, when the first rain falls, they grow considerably in size again, and from around the end of October the olives begin to turn purple.

This is exactly when we begin harvesting. We harvest when the olives have just begun to change color, but about 80% are still green.

At this point the yield is already good, but the aroma is still fresh and very strong.

Stone fruit with oily flesh

The olive is a stone fruit like the cherry or peach.

But did you know that the oil in olives is mainly found in the flesh and not in the pit?

Olive oil is therefore a fruit oil and not a kernel oil like linseed oil or sunflower oil.

That’s why it contains so many valuable substances.
During the production of extra virgin olive oil, these valuable fats are extracted from the olives cold (never at temperatures higher than 27°C).

Olive kernel oil, on the other hand, is of extremely low quality and not approved for consumption - unless it is mixed with high-quality oil - well, enjoy your meal... 😫

From olive to oil

Immediately after harvesting, the olives are brought to the oil mill, washed, crushed – and the oil is then extracted from the fruit pulp in the state-of-the-art decanter centrifuge.

Usually until late into the night!