We have provided you with the 12 QUESTION-ANSWER RULES to clarify your thoughtful decision to purchase oil directly from the mill.
The 12 rules will help you effectively and thoroughly understand the issues linked to the olive oil industry and the reasons why it is advisable to buy extra virgin olive oil straight from the mill.
Here’s why you should use extra virgin olive oil and why you should buy it from an oil mill
The essential rules you absolutely need to know about extra virgin olive oil:
RULE 1 – What does extra virgin olive oil represent today?
Extra virgin olive oil is the key ingredient of the Mediterranean diet, which can now be considered a true lifestyle model that everyone wants to reference, as it symbolizes health, beauty, and quality: in one word, Well-Being. Indeed, in 2010, UNESCO included the Mediterranean Diet in the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, defining it as “a set of skills, knowledge, rituals, symbols, and traditions, spanning from the landscape to the table.”
RULE 2 – How is extra virgin oil extracted?
Extra virgin oil (not olive oil in general) is the only vegetable fat extracted mechanically by simply pressing the fruit, thus without any chemical process. A completely natural juice from olives that is rich in polyphenols or bioactive compounds from the leaves and pulp of olives;
RULE 3 – Why is extra virgin oil now considered a “nutraceutical“?
Extra virgin oil is a blend of triglycerides predominantly made up of mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, with the main one being the prized monounsaturated oleic acid (up to 85%). Unsaturated fatty acids are essential for the vital and energy cycle of the body, with primary benefits including lowering bad LDL cholesterol and improving cardiovascular circulation. Therefore, extra virgin oil can perform various essential functions for the human body.
For these reasons, extra virgin oil has been described as a nutraceutical, meaning a “food-drug” that combines nutritional components with therapeutic properties of natural active principles extracted from plants, with proven and recognized effectiveness;
RULE 4 – Is it better to buy oil in bulk or bottled?
As with all our purchases, it’s essential to be cautious. We recommend buying bottled and packaged extra virgin olive oil with labels in compliance with the law, clearly indicating the product’s name (extra virgin or virgin), origin, harvest year, batch number, and minimum shelf life, etc. A company dealing with food products is subject to health regulations and regular inspections by relevant authorities (NAS and ASL), which serves as a fundamental guarantee for the consumer.
Therefore, never purchase from small agricultural producers who rarely provide any of these guarantees. Check our certifications for oils and both chemical and sensory analyses.
RULE 5 – Where can you buy certified extra virgin olive oil?
The ideal option would be to visit a producing and packaging mill to purchase extra virgin olive oil. Few people know that in Italy, there are over 6,000 mills (olive pressing plants), the majority situated in Puglia (80%), and many of them offer direct sales of packaged oil. Additionally, if you cannot visit a mill, you can easily buy from their online shop with home delivery after obtaining the chemical and sensory certifications of the oil.
Visiting a packaging mill, much like a winery, helps maintain a connection to rural life and the land and offers excellent opportunities to:
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- tour the olive pressing facilities;
- make friends with the millers;
- taste new oils as early as December each year before purchasing;
- discover oil and food pairings;
- deepen our understanding of the culture surrounding extra virgin olive oil for ourselves and our children and grandchildren!
RULE 6 – Why is the oil from the mill cloudy? And what about oil purchased in the early months of the year?
Don’t worry if during the olive harvest season or after online purchases in the early months of the year, the new oil appears cloudy, or if a slight layer of sediment settles at the bottom of the purchased containers over time. This is a completely natural process known as oil filtration by decantation, so there’s no need for concern! We always recommend not making large purchases of new oil in December/January/February; it’s better to replenish your family’s annual oil supply in the spring (April/May) when natural decantation has significantly reduced.
Mills avoid quickly filtering oil with cardboard panels to preserve its organoleptic qualities, the fruitiness of the oil, and the phenolic compounds derived from the fruit of the olives.
RULE 7 – How can I properly store my oil after purchase?
Oil is a biologically active fat derived from fresh fruit! The storage phase is crucial to maintaining its quality until expiration, preserving sensory characteristics, and preventing unpleasant phenomena like oxidation or rancidity and winter freezing.The main factors that accelerate oil oxidation are oxygen and light, so oil should always be bottled in dark glass containers or tin cans, as these materials allow for greater stability of the organoleptic properties. Bottles should also be made of dark green glass to hinder light penetration and protect the oil from UV radiation. However, it is important that customers also follow some precautions to ensure and store the oil at least until expiration:
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- the ideal storage temperature is between 10 and 20 degrees; avoid freezing the oil or exposing it to high temperatures. We recommend storing your supply in a cellar to avoid winter-summer temperature fluctuations;
- direct or diffused sunlight speeds up oxidation, so it’s best to keep your supply in a dark place;
- it’s good practice to always keep the container tightly closed and in a well-ventilated area free from any odors, as oil absorbs all kinds of unpleasant smells. Additionally, the passage of air accelerates oxidation, leading to degradation;
- we advise against transferring oil immediately after purchase from cans to bottles, except for immediate use, as it would be less protected. Once the first can is opened for consumption, the remaining oil can be transferred to dark glass bottles with tight seals to avoid prolonged contact with oxygen.
RULE 8 – Why is my extra virgin olive oil bitter and spicy?
You have surely tasted some particularly bitter and spicy oils; you may not have enjoyed them, but don’t worry, it’s not a defect and now we will explain why! The olives picked from the tree before they are ripe are rich in natural antioxidants (polyphenols or biofenols) that protect the fruits from harmful external agents such as insects, bacteria, fungi, etc. It is these defensive antioxidant compounds that give the extra virgin olive oil its green/greenish color, the more or less intense grassy sensory profile, and the level of bitterness and spiciness of the oil. Indeed, when olives are harvested at maturity with the flesh color being black/purplish, they lose a good portion of their natural antioxidants; thus, much sweeter oils are produced, with barely perceptible or even absent bitter and spicy notes. It should be noted that the level of bitterness and spiciness also depends on various other factors, primarily the variety of olives.
This is why virgin olive oils have almost no bitterness and spiciness, whereas in extra virgin oil, when the olives are harvested early (completely green from the beginning of October), very bitter/spicy oils with a high level of biofenols are obtained. If you are a connoisseur of high-quality extra virgin olive oil and are looking for bitter and spicy oils, request the chemical analyses of the oils to purchase, particularly looking for the content of total biofenols and Vitamin E.
RULE 9 – Is extra virgin olive oil from the mill a natural and genuine product?
We firmly believe that extra virgin olive oil is one of the few truly natural and genuine foods left in Italy, produced without contamination and chemical processes. Oil bought at the mill is a juice of olives that comes from freshly picked olives that are immediately pressed, in other words, it’s a juice from fresh fruit detached from an olive tree!
RULE 10 – Are there alternatives to the mill for buying good extra virgin olive oil?
As an alternative to buying at the mill, you can turn to large distribution; there are various brands and types of extra virgin olive oil on the market with a significant price range. At this point, it is essential to carefully read the label of a bottle of oil to understand who produces the olives (which is rarely indicated as it is not mandatory), the national or community origin of the olives, and the production campaign. Often, the mention of made in Italy is not indicated, meaning the oil comes from EU or non-EU countries; if the production campaign is not indicated, it means that the oils come from different campaigns (new oil and old oil);
When purchasing from large distribution, there is clearly a risk of buying a less genuine product due to possible commercial fraud that bottlers may engage in to speculate on the product, so it is essential to be careful and always read the label!
RULE 11 – Why is there a large price gap between extra virgin oils on the market?
The price of extra virgin olive oil purchased from the mill will likely be higher than that at the supermarket because the latter’s product could have been produced anywhere in the world, in what way, and with what types of olives; however, the higher price is worth the genuineness, and one should always be cautious of extremely low prices! Fortunately, more and more consumers are preferring to spend a little more each day for a handcrafted extra virgin olive oil of great quality and fruit-forward!
Here are the testimonials and reviews of the Salento oil from our most loyal customers!
RULE 12 – What is the right price for extra virgin olive oil at the mill?
A good extra virgin olive oil at the mill can reach and exceed €10/liter at retail, while for PDO oils, the price can even double. It is strongly discouraged to buy oils at prices below €5-6/liter, unless they are old oils from previous campaigns whose fruity flavor has been diminished by the summer heat. However, it is not uncommon to see oil offers at the mill in the period after summer and before the start of the new campaign in November if there are still substantial stocks in the warehouse. This is also a good reason to buy oil at the mill in the post-summer period!
CONCLUSIONS
You have read the 12 RULES on why to consume extra virgin olive oil and why to buy oil from a mill. Now, it’s up to you to decide where you prefer to purchase your family’s oil supply in a conscious way.
BUY FROM OUR SHOP
Now it’s up to you! Where do you prefer to buy the supply of Extra Virigin Olive Oil for yoyr family in a conoscious way?
Come visit us…
If you are on vacation in Salento, you can reach our Oil Sales Point considering the following distances from our company headquarters:
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- Porto Cesareo and Torre Lapillo 20 km;
- Nardò, Santa Maria al Bagno and Santa Caterina 28 km;
- Lecce 10 km;
- Gallipoli 40 km;
- Otranto 50 km.
