Today we finished the olives and took them to the
frantoio - the olive press. Not the stone crushing mill of yore, but interesting all the same.
The olives are "black olives", but many are unripe - however, for the best flavour, people prefer a mixture of green and black. Leaves and other debris are removed with a blower, and the whole olive, including stone, is crushed to produce the oil.
We left our crop, as smaller batches are run through later in the day - Pietro will pick up the oil next morning.
 |
| The harvest ready to go - Pietro's friend Jon provides the transport |
 |
| At the frantoio, Pietro discusses the finer points of olives with one of the men |
|
|
The frantoio - a modern, clean food facility - and a community enterprise to boot!
|
 |
| A crate of olives begin their journey through the plant - their first destination is the leaf blower which they reach by conveyer belt from this hopper |
 |
| Two olive growers wait and watch their oil pour forth - just in case there is any monkey business ... |
 |
| ... while the Madonna looks on - perhaps for the same reason |
 |
| The final product |
 |
| A coffee in the local cafe to finish the day |
 |
| Next morning - Pietro about to sample this year's vintage - (it is delicious!) |
I love the picture of the two peasants looking at their oil coming out, checking that there is no monkey business. And the madonna also looking for the same reason. Your report is really a fine piece of documentation on the olive experience in general, and especially on the frantoio trip. It makes me feel that what we did together was, after all, a remarkable experience. You didn't mention that the frantoio (the mill) is located in a hamlet called FRANTOIO. What a coincidence!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you again for your help. I dont know what I would have dcone without you!