In short. Everything people ask us about Apulian extra virgin olive oil: what the term actually means, what acidity is and why you cannot taste it, how olives should be picked, and what separates the grades on the shelf.
These are the questions that come up again and again — from people buying oil, and from people who have just been given a bottle and want to know what they have.
What does extra virgin olive oil mean?
It is the oil obtained from the first pressing of olives by mechanical means — without chemical processes or substances, and in conditions that cannot alter it — whose free acidity, expressed as oleic acid, is no higher than 1%.
Only sound olives are used, of the first quality, picked and pressed, washed and separated from the leaves. The juice is extracted and filtered. That is all.
What causes acidity?
Acidity is the percentage of oleic acid in the oil, and it is the single most important sign of quality: the higher it is, the worse the oil.
It rises with carelessness at every stage — olives left to over-ripen, too long an interval between picking and pressing, sloppy work at the mill.
You cannot taste acidity. It is established by chemical analysis, not by the palate. Do not confuse it with the slight peppery tickle at the back of the throat: that is the opposite signal — it points to low acidity and a recent pressing.
How is the product simply called “olive oil” made?
Oil sold as olive oil can have acidity up to about 1.5%, and is made by blending refined olive oil with edible virgin olive oils.
The refined oil is what was lampante virgin oil: because of faults and serious alterations — acidity above roughly 3% — it cannot be eaten as it is, and goes through an industrial process of deacidification, deodorising and decolouring. What comes out is neutral in both taste and colour. Adding a share of virgin oil gives it back some flavour, and it goes on the shelf as olive oil.
Where the name comes from. Lampante oil is very dark and unpleasant to taste. Its name is literal: it was the oil that fed the lamps.
And olive pomace oil?
The pomace — the solid residue of pressed olives — still holds a small amount of oil, roughly 2 to 4 kg per 100 kg. It cannot be extracted mechanically, so it is recovered with solvents, in the same way as seed oils, then refined and corrected. Blended with a share of refined olive oil and kept within about 1.5% acidity, it is sold as olive pomace oil.
What does the quality of an extra virgin oil depend on?
On several things at once. The variety of olive comes first, then the area of production, then the climate and the chemistry of the soil — all of which shape taste and aroma.
After that, everything depends on handling:
- how ripe the olives are when picked
- how they are picked, and how long they wait before pressing
- where and how they are stored in the meantime
- the extraction technology, and the cleanliness of the mill
- how the finished oil is kept
What is the best way to pick olives?
Olives should be picked at the right point of ripeness, judged by colour: when the surface colouring is partial or has just finished. Oil from those olives will be the best — richest in healthy compounds, lowest in acidity, and with the most pleasant aroma.
The best method is hand-picking from the tree, which lets you take the fruit at exactly the ripeness you want, intact and never touching the ground. A mechanical shaker is a good second. Picking up from the ground should be avoided.
The formula never changes: healthy olives, picked at the right moment, pressed quickly and cleanly, and kept away from light and heat afterwards. Everything else is detail.
Back to the beginning. If you want the history of the olive tree in Puglia and why the region became the first in Italy for oil, it is on the Apulian extra virgin olive oil page.
