How Do We Produce The Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil With The Highest Ever Polyphenol Count?
Every drop of extra virgin olive oil that goes into a Morocco Gold bottle is special, but this year’s harvest is even more special than ever. This year’s olive oil harvest has an exceptionally low acidity level and the highest ever level of health-boosting polyphenols we have recorded in our olive oil to date.
This all adds up to provide lovers of high quality, single source extra virgin olive oil a superior combination of taste and health benefits than ever before.
But Just How Do We Make The Best Extra Virgin Olive Oil For Our Customers?
Although we like to think the wonderful Morocco Gold team have mastered the art of magic, the truth is a little bit more scientific.
The exceptionally high quality of Morocco Gold extra virgin olive oil is the result of care and attention to detail throughout the entire production process. This is made up of three distinct elements: The perfect soil, harvest and extraction.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Starts From The Perfect Soil
The specific soil conditions of the Beni Mellal region, together with the mild winters and summers, caressed by hot winds from the Sahara, make ideal growing conditions for Morocco Gold olives. The existence of centenary trees and traditional presses (maasras) testify to the longevity of olive cultivation in this area.
Ground work and tillage is carried out once or twice a year: once in winter to facilitate rainwater infiltration into the soil, and in spring to rotate the soil.
Planting is done at the beginning of spring. There is some permitted intercropping of cereals, also almond trees, that contribute to the hint of almonds in Morocco Gold.
In addition to natural rainfall, which is generally sufficient in the geographical area, trees are irrigated as needed during the period of vegetation of the olive tree, normally until the end of September.
The Moroccan Way To Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fruiting sizing and assessment of the maturity of the olive is carried out annually. The planned date of harvest is agreed based on the maturity index of the olives, also the generations of experience of the olive farmers. Harvesting will then normally take place between the end of October and beginning of December.
Morocco Gold olives are harvested by hand using flexible combs. Nets and tarpaulins are placed on the ground to avoid contact between the olives and the ground.
Our olives are picked when the fruit is young and green. As the olives age on the tree, the colour of the olive changes to red and then black, the size of the olive increases thus producing more oil, but the polyphenol level decreases. There is a great deal of expertise within the farming community where we source our oil to ensure that the harvest is collected at the optimum time to maximise the polyphenol level.
Aerated boxes are used for the immediate transport of the harvested olives from the orchard to the crushing unit. On receipt, the olives are checked to ensure their quality, in particular colour and appearance, any defective or malformed olives.
The olives will then pass through a stripper to removes any impurities. They are then washed and drained before processing. Leaf stripping and washing eliminate impurities, whether of vegetable origin such as leaves, twigs or mineral matter such as dust, earth, stones and other solids. Washing not only improves the quality of the product but also extraction efficiency.
Extraction of Extra Virgin Olive Oil From Our Precious Olives
Extraction of oil is carried out in a two-phase continuous process. This minimizes handling of the olives and maintains strict control of hygiene.
Grinding of the olives is carried out using a metal hammer mill which is made of stainless steel. The paste obtained then undergoes a kneading or malaxation process which is the fundamental operation to separate the solid and liquid phases. This kneading operation is carried out for 40 to 50 minutes at temperatures not exceeding 28 ° C. In this way, the extracted oil may be labeled: cold-extracted oil or cold pressed oil.
The well-kneaded dough is sent to a horizontal decanter where the continuous and simultaneous separation of the oil and wet cakes is achieved by a combination of centrifugal force and of the rotation of a conveyor screw which rotates inside the bowl.
The time between harvest and pulping does not exceed 48 hours. Morocco Gold extra virgin olive oil is unfiltered to retain all its natural properties and goodness. Nothing is added or taken away so that it is the result of the soil, the sun and the rain only.
And Finally…. Morocco Gold Gives Back To The Environment Which Makes It Special
Care of the environment is at the heart of the farming methods used to make Morocco Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Even the left-over paste after pressing is turned into briquettes for domestic fuel in rural areas. This reduces cutting down trees for firewood and so prevents soil erosion.
Sustainability and care for the environment is carried forward into our carefully designed bottle and packaging designs which are fully recyclable with no waste.
We are delighted to bring this ethically sourced and environmentally friendly, delicious tasting ‘superfood’ from this amazing new undiscovered source to your kitchens and tables. We believe handpicked harvesting is the right way to extract our olives. Our extra virgin olive oil is high in antioxidants and polyphenols which progressively increases with each harvest.
