The Production Process | Oil mill San Carlo

Production Process

I. Cultivation of olive groves

The cultivation of the olive groves keeps our company busy throughout the calendar year. The oil mill San Carlo minimizes the mechanical working of the soil in order to reduce the emission of CO₂ into the environment and to promote natural greening. The greening of the soil increases the carbon/nitrogen ratio, releases mineral elements, promotes water retention (increases the permeability of the soil) and stimulates biological activity (development of microorganisms and soil fauna), all of them are fundamental elements for a sustainable cultivation management. This phase is completed by cleaning the stumps, organic fertilisation of the soil, pruning the plants and shredding the cuttings in the field (to enrich the soil with organic material).

I. Cultivation of olive groves

The cultivation of the olive groves keeps our company busy throughout the calendar year.

The oil mill San Carlo minimizes the mechanical working of the soil in order to reduce the emission of CO2 into the environment and to promote natural greening.

The greening of the soil increases the carbon/nitrogen ratio, releases mineral elements, promotes water retention (increases the permeability of the soil) and stimulates biological activity (development of microorganisms and soil fauna), all of them are fundamental elements for a sustainable cultivation management.

This phase is completed by cleaning the stumps, organic fertilisation of the soil, pruning the plants and shredding the cuttings in the field (to enrich the soil with organic material).

II. Olive harvest

The olives are harvested with manual harvesting machines and a mechanical shaking arm.

The olives are then transported to the oil mill for processing. The transformation from olives to oil is timely and takes place no later than 8 hours after harvesting.

This avoids exposing the olives to oxidation.

II. Olive harvest

The olives are harvested with manual harvesting machines and a mechanical shaking arm.

The olives are then transported to the oil mill for processing. The transformation from olives to oil is timely and takes place no later than 8 hours after harvesting.

This avoids exposing the olives to oxidation.

III. Oil extraction

After harvesting, the olives are defoliated and washed to remove impurities such as mud, twigs and bark that could affect the quality of the oil.

In the next step, the olives are crushed to obtain a thick, creamy paste. The crushing is done by mechanical devices that crush the olives without friction and thus avoid heating them.

The paste is transferred to the kneading machine where the aggregation of the oil drops is done through mechanical processing.

The final operations are extraction with a decanter, which separates the solid residues, and centrifugation, which removes the water and makes the oil clearer.

III. Oil extraction

After harvesting, the olives are defoliated and washed to remove impurities such as mud, twigs and bark that could affect the quality of the oil.

In the next step, the olives are crushed to obtain a thick, creamy paste. The crushing is done by mechanical devices that crush the olives without friction and thus avoid heating them.

The paste is transferred to the kneading machine where the aggregation of the oil drops is done through mechanical processing.

The final operations are extraction with a decanter, which separates the solid residues, and centrifugation, which removes the water and makes the oil clearer.

IV. Oil storage

Once the oil extraction process has been completed and after decanting and filtering operations (necessary to remove small solid residues in suspension), the extracted oil is ready for storage.

The oil mill San Carlo uses stainless steel tanks filled with nitrogen in order to maintain an atmosphere without oxygen inside.

The tanks protect the oil from light exposure and are located in a temperature-controlled environment.

It is important to remember that oxygen, light and incorrect storage temperature compromise the quality of the oil, as they start oxidation process and deteriorate the nutritional and flavour properties.

Therefore, we ensure optimal storage of our high-quality olive oil.