There is no accurate information as to the start of olive oil production. However, olive pressing technology is known to be operational for approximately 3000 years. An olive oil workshop found in Urla, Izmir is unerringly 2600 years old!
Throughout history, olive oil has been widely considered as a source of health, youth and strength. In ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, people made various medicines and cosmetic products by mixing olive oil with different flowers and herbs.
Until 1970's, for people who were not of Mediterranean origins, olive oil remained as the charm of the Mediterranean countries used only in exclusive local dishes and set aside in the back shelves of the "authentic" culinary products sections in markets. During such times when almost all dishes in the Mediterranean cuisine were made with olive oil, Western consumers became acquainted with this product mostly in restaurants.
Thanks to some research held in the 1970's, the significance of olive oil increased further. One research held revealed that, among the Western people, those that suffered the least from heart diseases were the Mediterranean people. This outcome was attributed by and large to the central role of olive oil in the Mediterranean diet. Thus, olive oil consumption increased as it appeared that the use of olive oil until young adulthood contributed to high-quality nutrition, that in later years it reduced calcium loss and as a result prevented bone loss, helped during pregnancy as the fatty acids it contained played a major role in the formation of the cells and the nervous system and that its rich content of "good cholesterol" and antioxidants helped prevention of artherosclerosis.
As a result, the demand for olive oil in Western countries soared and consumers decided to eat wisely, avoid food with additives and prefer natural products. As people discovered the importance of "more natural" nutrition, olive oil took its well-deserved share from it.
Olive oil consumption in our country is far from being at the desired level. Per capita olive oil consumption in Greece is 20 kg, in Italy 12 kg, in Spain 10 kg, whereas in Turkey it is below
1 kg.
Olive Oil Production in Turkey
In Turkey, there are nearly 100 million productive olive trees and 500,000 families earn their living from olive cultivation.
In our country, olive oil production varies in line with the alternation of high crop and low crop years in olive production.
Turkey is the fifth largest olive oil producer after Spain, Italy, Greece and Tunisia. Its average annual production is approximately 140,000 tons. While 60,000 tons of this quantity is consumed domestically, the rest is exported.
Olive Oil Production
The best method for harvesting olives is the one where olives collected with rakes are accumulated on the netting placed over the soil beneath the trees. Nevertheless, also the mechanical olive collection methods make use of vibrators and brooms that do not harm the harvest.
The olives collected must be pressed as soon as possible. In situations where this is not possible, olives are stored in dim, cool and airy places inside wooden or plastic containers.
Olives are washed with cold water and kept over vibrating grills for excess water to drip, in order to be freed from their leaves, vines and all other impurities, before being crushed. Once they are crushed, the paste that is formed must be neither too thin nor too coarse.
Then comes the churning or mixing (malaxation) phase – the paste is heated up and kneaded slowly. The malaxation phase is very important because this is when the poly-phenols which give olive oil its particular taste come out.
The next phase is the pressing of olives. With continuous system oil mills used in modern facilities, the paste is centrifuged without the use of a press at which stage the process is accelerated through the addition of water at 26–28 degrees. The must acquired at this stage is sent to the machine to assort the oil for the last time.
