Learning about Extra virgin oive oil > The olive grove and the olive

The myriad varieties may confer the olive with wildly varying morphological characteristics, which then become typical of the host area: there are bush-shaped olives (Sardinia) and others with a prevalently vertical development.

These characteristics have profound consequences on cultivation techniques, also in relation to the slope of a hillside and the conformation of the host soil. The leaves, evergreens, of oval lanceolate shape, are whitish on the underside; the flowers are small, white tending to green and  abundant amounts grow in bunches during the blossoming phase (in May and June).

Only a small percentage of the flowers becomes fruit, due to many flowers falling prematurely. The fruits begin to develop over the summer, and the colour-turning phase is reached around September, that is the beginning of real ripening with the changing of the outer colouration towards brown.
Complete ripeness is achieved, depending on the region, between November and March.

Even though the outward appearance may vary wildly in dimensions and characteristics, from one variety to another, the structure of the olive fruit, defined “drupe” in botanical terms, has a constant composition formed of the epidermis (or epicarp), a pulpy part called the mesocarp, which contains about 70% of the fatty matter; the woody kernel, or endocarp, provides the remaining 30% of oil.

The oil begins to form with the ripening process of the fruit, reaching the maximum quantity when the olive has its most intense colouration; up until the colour-turning phase the olives do not contain oil, but a quantity of organic acids and sugars.

At the end of the ripening period the composition of the olive is as follows:

• 50% water

• 20 – 24%oil

• 20% carbohydrates

• 6% cellulose

• 1.5% protein

• 1.5% ash

Depending on the characteristics of the “drupe”, the various cultivars are defined “for oil” or “for the table”. In general, for the table larger olives are preferred, with a higher pulp to kernel ratio; regarding “oil” drupes, the main requisites are the yield in oil and above all quality on pressing.

There are various cultivars with fruits that can be used in both ways, that is they can either be consumed directly or pressed. The degree of ripeness reached by the drupe at harvesting is fundamental for the determination of the organoleptic characteristics of the oil, that is those distinctive features which together will be perceived by the consumer on tasting: a golden-yellow oil will correspond to fully ripe fruits, with a low acidity which however tends to become more evident in the case of overly-protracted ripening, whereas the characteristic green colour of oils from Tuscany or Puglia, rich in chlorophyll, is also an indication of premature harvesting.

The degree of ripeness, harvesting systems, stocking, transport and the time which passes between these last operations, and the moment of pressing, all have an enormous effect on the final quality of the oil produced.

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