1st Cold Press – Does it matter?

Yes! However - Does first cold press mean that the resulting olive oil is any good? The reality is that you can first cold press a good olive or a bad olive. It is absolutely true that the process of “first cold press” is a natural part of producing high-quality olive oil. It is also true that some of the lowest quality olive oil on the market is also first cold press. The difference in high-quality olive oil is determined by the quality of the olives, as well as, when and how the olives are harvested and processed.

Here’s a great question to start with.

Question:

What are the qualities that determine the real value of olive oil?

Answer:

To keep it simple there are two primary qualities that we are looking for.

1. Nutrition.

2. Flavor.

Nutrition:

We first want to keep in mind the fact that olives are a fruit. Anyone in the business of harvesting fruit is looking for that moment when the fruit has reached the perfect point of maturity. There is a point at which fruit reaches its optimum level of nutritional value. If you, as a grower, are seeking to produce an exceptionally high quality olive oil you realize the need to handpick the olives at their peak being careful to avoid bruising. You also realize that the olives, like any other fruit, will begin losing their food value the moment they are picked. It is therefore necessary to press the olives as soon as possible in order to capture peak nutritional value.

If the grower is seeking production value over food value he will probably tend toward late harvest. Late harvest means that he can easily shake the trees and rake the fruit off the ground to save labor. Small growers will commonly sell their olives two small co-ops who in turn sell to larger co-ops. This generally leads to excessive handling of the olives and an extended time factor during which the olives continue to deteriorate in their nutritional value. These practices lead to lower cost in production as well as lower quality in the end result.

If the grower is seeking food value, as his prime objective, he will handpick the olives at their peak of nutritional value and first cold press the olives as soon as possible.

Flavor:

Flavor is a variable that is determined by the variety of olives used, when and how the olives are harvested, and the quality standards of production. While taste preferences can be subjective there are certain characteristics that act as an indication of quality. For example: Early harvest olive oil will tend to have a slightly green or grassy taste quality. Typically early harvest olive oil will also have a somewhat bitter for peppery finish. That slightly bitter or peppery finish is a characteristic associated with higher levels of antioxidants. Late harvest olive oils generally tend to have a smoother taste and less bitter finish, meaning that they are also lower in nutritional value.

We keep it simple and there is much more to come. Buon Appetito!

#Firstcoldpress #Handpickedoliveoil #oliveoilnutrition #oliveoilproduction #oliveoilflavor #flavoredoliveoil #lateharvestoliveoil #Qualityoliveoil #oliveoiltaste