Good oil always comes from quality raw materials, i.e. healthy fruit.
Olives, like all other fruits, range from unripe to ripe: the degree of ripeness is perceived with the naked eye, based on the colour of the skin.
You can tell from the color of the peel when you intend to harvest, which always occurs in the fall months.
For example:
- if we start the harvest in early October, while olives are still herbaceous - rich in antioxidants and harvested ahead of their ripening time - we will get less oil, but its taste will be very fruity;
- if we decide to harvest the olives when fully ripe, generally in November, when the olive turns from green to purple, we will get a sweeter oil with a higher yield.
Italy’s particular geology means that, in many areas, harvesting is still done manually.
Manual or mechanical harvesting keeps the olives healthy.
Only healthy olives, placed in open crates and pressed within 24 hours, will produce good extra virgin olive oil.
