ORGANIC Olive Oil/Spain

Since 1853, the Valderrama family has been dedicated to the cultivation and care of their olive grove. Only in this way can an extra virgin olive oil achieve truly outstanding quality. José M. Valderrama's grandfather founded the first olive oil mill in 1920 on the family estate in Montilla, some 50km north-east
of Corodrabo. Valderama combines cebturies of familye xperience with the latest technolgy. Rapid processing guarantees Fast processing guarantees a high quality product. It takes less than 45 minutes from the harvesting of the olives to the first flow of "fresh olive juice", which guarantees maximum aroma and flavour.

Thanks to the very gentle processing of the OCAL variety, the fully ripe olives produce a very mild olive oil with a fresh, fruity taste. The bitter and scratchy taste that accompanies many other olive oils is barely perceptible with this olive variety. The mild, fruity flavour of this olive oil is a very special Mediterranean delight. It is perfect for Mediterranean salads, tapas and hot dishes - and far too good for frying.

The olive grove is located in the province of Cordoba, near the town of Montilla. Finca San Rafael is home to around 12,000 ancient olive trees of the Arbequinos, Hojiblancos, Picudos and Ocales varieties, some of which are over 100 years old.

The processing and extraction of olive oil

The process begins with the harvesting of perfectly ripe olives. These are shaken from the branches of the olive trees with combs or strong vibrations, collected on a clean, spread out blanket and transported to the oil mill in baskets. At the oil mill, the freshly picked olives are first washed and then transported to the oil mill a few minutes later.

Between the mill's grinding discs, they are crushed together with the stone to form a fine paste containing olive oil. The olive oil is then separated from the watery pulp using a decanter (centrifuge). The olive oil is extracted quickly and very gently in just a few minutes at temperatures below 20°C. This purely mechanical extraction process preserves almost all of the oil's valuable ingredients. Approximately one litre of precious olive oil can be obtained from 9-10 kilograms of fully ripe olives.

The entire process, from the olive tree to the oil storage tanks, is completed within a few hours. The oil is kept well chilled and stored under inert gas (nitrogen) until it is bottled, in order to minimise oxidation of the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Olive harvesting with the safe-bird method

At Ölmühle Solling we can assure you that all the olive oils in our range are made from olives harvested using the safe-bird method.

Why does a particular harvesting method pose a risk to songbirds? Farmers in the Mediterranean start harvesting their olives in October. In the case of intensive farming on large plantations, certain harvesting machines are sometimes used to save on the cost of harvesters. The olives are shaken from the trees at night, and instead of being collected by hand with nets, they are sucked up by large machines. By harvesting at night, the farmers also hope to improve the shelf life of the olives. This is because olives harvested during the day are heated by sunlight and need to be processed more quickly after harvesting. The problem is that night harvesting takes place in the dark. At this time, many songbirds are resting in the trees. Due to the loud noise of the harvesters in the dark, most of the birds remain disoriented in the trees in search of shelter. This leads to the birds being sucked in and killed. This would be different if the machines were used during the day, when the birds are not disoriented and can leave the trees. Fortunately, this method of harvesting is being used less and less as large international olive oil companies are being petitioned to ban the harvesting method of sucking olives from the trees at night.

We assure you that the olives for our olive oils are harvested only during the day, without the use of suction cups and with absolute respect for the animals and the environment.

This is a particularly mild and fruity olive oil made from a special variety of olive (Ocal). It has no bitter or scratchy taste!  Ideal for salads and Spanish tapas. Marinate fish, meat, cheese and antipasti. Delicious as a dip with bread or baguette.