ORGANIC Olive oil/Spain

Since 1853, the Valderrama family has devoted itself to the cultivation and care of its 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 factory in 1920 on the grounds of the family's own finca in Montilla, around 50 km north-east of Córdoba. Valderrama is characterized by the combination of hundreds of years of family experience and the use of state-of-the-art technology. Fast processing guarantees a high quality product. It takes barely 45 minutes from the olive harvest to the first flow of "fresh olive juice", which guarantees maximum aroma and flavor.

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

The olive plantation is located in the province of Cordoba, near the town of Montilla. The Finca San Rafael is home to around 12,000 old olive trees of the Arbequinos, Hojiblancos, Picudos and Ocales varieties, including a few trees that are over 100 years old.

The processing and extraction of the olive oil

The processing process begins with the harvesting of the perfectly ripe olives. These are shaken from the branches of the olive trees using 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 harvested olives are first washed and then transported to the oil mill just a few minutes later.

Between the mill's grinding disks, they are ground together with the stone to a fine pulp 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. The valuable ingredients so typical of olive oil are preserved almost undiminished by this purely mechanical extraction process. Approximately one liter of precious olive oil can be obtained from 9-10 kilograms of fully ripe olives.

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

Olive harvesting using the safe-bird method

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

Why does a certain harvesting method pose a risk to songbirds? Farmers in the Mediterranean region start harvesting their olives in October. In intensive cultivation on large plantations, olives are sometimes harvested with certain harvesting machines in order to save costs for harvesting assistants. The olives are shaken from the trees at night and are not collected by hand with nets, but are sucked in with large machines. By harvesting at night, the farmers also hope to improve the shelf life of the olives. This is because olives that are harvested during the day are heated by the sunlight and have to be processed more quickly after harvesting. However, the problem is that the night-time harvest takes place in the dark. At this time, numerous songbirds are resting in the trees. Due to the loud noises made by the harvesting machines 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, as the birds are not disoriented in daylight and can leave the trees. Fortunately, this harvesting method is being used less and less, as large international olive oil companies are being petitioned to ban the harvesting method that relies on sucking olives out of the trees at night.

We assure you that the olives for our olive oils are only harvested 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 olive variety (Ocal). It does not taste bitter or scratchy!
Ideal for salads and Spanish tapas. For marinating fish, meat, cheese and antipasti. Delicious as a dip with bread or baguette.