17/11/2025
🌿 Have you ever wondered what happens to olives from the moment they’re harvested until they become the olive oil on your table? 🌿
This time of year, growers and mills are fully immersed in turning freshly harvested olives into one of Europe’s most treasured products: extra virgin olive oil.
Curious how this transformation happens? Here’s a look at the full journey 👇
🫒 Between October and January, olives are picked with great care - either by hand or with the help of modern machinery - to protect their quality.
🚛 Once harvested, olives are swiftly delivered to the mill to avoid oxidation. They’re kept briefly in ventilated crates to preserve freshness before processing begins.
🍃 At the mill, leaves and debris are removed and the olives are washed thoroughly. This ensures that only clean, healthy fruit enters the production phase.
⛲️ Next, the olives are crushed into a paste, freeing the microscopic droplets of oil and starting their transformation into what many call “liquid gold.”
🥣 The paste is gently mixed so the oil droplets can combine. Maintaining a controlled temperature during this stage is key to protecting flavour and nutrients.
🍶 Using centrifugation, the oil is separated from the remaining water and solids, then filtered and stored in stainless steel tanks. Finally, it’s bottled - usually in dark glass or tins - to shield it from light and keep it fresh until it reaches consumers.
✨ Follow our Go2Grove project page for more insights into the people, practices and sustainable approaches shaping the Mediterranean olive oil sector. Remember to visit our website as well: https://go2grove.erasmus.site/
