Making Olive Oil

We may never be able to eat regular old olive oil ever again. Between the beautiful oil sent to me by Frances Mayes from her Bramasole Olive Oil Convivium and the freshly pressed, fruity oil we enjoyed visiting family in Italy, we have definitely been enjoying some of the best oil I have ever had. I’ve even been taking two tablespoons of olive oil every morning; it’s said to do all sorts of things including making the skin glow, cleansing the body, and helping to prevent illness.

After our amazing visit to Masciarelli, we headed home to have lunch and play time with our nephews. When my sister-in-law arrived home from work, we all piled in the car and went for a drive, ending up at the facility where their family makes the oil we were enjoying all week.

It may have been the evening, but the olive oil facility was full of activity. Giant crates of olives were being transported in, and people from all over the valley were there using their own olives to make family olive oil.

It was fun to see the process from start to finish. Here, the olives are being separated from the branches and leaves.

Massive stone wheels ground the olives into a paste. That’s some olive tapenade right there!

The olive paste was then spread into thin layers that were stacked in a press, as seen below.

At that point, you could really see the olive oil coming into its own. The smells in the facility were incredible! I wish I could have just filled a big jug to bring back to Boston.

The process of making olive oil was definitely a fun one to witness, and it was even more special because it was at the place where our family has made their oil for a long time.

We went home and had another amazing dinner which included olive oil, of course. This time around, we sampled an oil that my sister-in-law’s mother had infused with hot peppers. It was amazing and something I definitely plan on trying soon.

I’m officially ready to go to Italy again. . . or to Sonoma or somewhere that’s not dealing with single digit temperatures! Do you have any travel planned in the near future?