As you probably know, there are several methods for extracting olive oil from olives. Cold-pressed oil is, without a doubt, the oil that achieves the highest quality in comparison with olive oil obtained through other processes.

The temperature at the time of extraction

I believe that producing something slowly and calmly is the only way to achieve a product of the highest quality. Conversely, when the processes are carried out in a hurry the quality and soul of the product are lost.

There are some methods that use heat to achieve faster and more abundant oil production. This need to produce more quantity with less breaks a fundamental rule: to obtain a maximum quality olive oil, the juice of the olive must be extracted at a temperature lower than 80ºF —this is the temperature that cold-pressed oil respects.

When olives are heated at a higher temperature , the organoleptic properties of the fruit and its nutrients are lost. The oil also ends up oxidizing prematurely. Thus, what could have been liquid gold is diluted and transformed into a mere shadow of what might have been.

Carapelli: cold-pressed oil

That’s why I enjoy Carapelli oils, because they fully respect the entire production process in order to offer superior quality oils. At the moment of extraction nothing is left behind, and it is purely cold-pressed oil.

This is how Carapelli obtains the best oils on the market:

• First, the olives are pressed and crushed in mills to start extracting the oil from the fruit.

• The paste obtained from the press is shaken so that the oil continues to be released, without the temperature reaching 80ºF.

• Finally, the juice obtained is centrifuged to separate the oil from the water and the residues.