What is a mill and how does it work?
Did you know that Spain is a world leader in the area, production and foreign trade of olive oil? The production of olive oil According to the Ministry of Agriculture, it accounts for 70% From all over the European Union, the traditional oil mills that have undergone a very significant evolution in recent decades are carried out in the oil mills, improving the processes to obtain the characteristic olive juice.
On Beloleum We delve into this article in the meaning of Almazara, its functioning, its history and its evolution.
What is a mill?
The oil mill is the place where olive oil is made. Its name comes from the Arabic ‘al-maʿṣara’, whose meaning is “the press”. It has also been traditionally known by the name of Trujal, which derives from the Latin ‘torculāre’, that is, pressure.
The oil mill is the place where all the processes for the extraction of olive oil are carried out.
History and evolution of the functioning of the oil mill
The oils have been extracted for thousands of years in different cultures through methods such as edge stones, which moved around a central pole or windmills or trujales (presses). The Greco-Romans were the forerunners of the spindle press, which was manually activated with a lever or that was moved by animals, in the large ones.
As a curiosity, we tell you that our Beloleum extra virgin olive oil, from Aragon, is made in the family mill, originating in 1879. Since then, there are many processes that have evolved and have been modernized, maintaining the essence of a tradition that goes back to This area of Aragon at the time of ancient Rome.
as collected by the Book ‘Obtaining virgin olive oils’, although olive technology has undergone changes over the centuries, the classical system of grinding, pressing and decantation has essentially remained unchanged until the 20th century. In this way, in the 1930s, the centrifugal machine was introduced to separate water and oil, which was experiencing innovations in subsequent decades. But one of the main changes was the passage of the discontinuous press extraction system to the continuous press, which came around the 1970s, with new machines, such as mechanical mills and new centrifuges. This modernization allowed to stop working by lots, in addition to a qualitative improvement and in production.
If you are curious to know How was the cold pressing system, you can find out in this article.
The operation of the modern mill
after the olive harvest, these fruits arrive immediately at the mill, where the oil production process takes place in the following phases:
- Wash: The olives are immersed in a stream to clean them from the impurities that may have accompanied them in their transport to the oil mill. Heavier materials, such as small stones, go to the bottom. In this process, the leaves and traces of earth and dust are also removed.
- Olive oil grinding: The olives pass to one of the most important processes of the oil mill, the milling, in a mill in which they are crushed in their entirety. This gives an olive paste.
- Smoothie: Next, it is necessary to break the oil and water emulsion, something that is achieved with a mixing machine.
- Extraction: This resulting mass, much more homogeneous, is ready for extraction, a process in which in a vertical centrifuge the extra virgin olive oil is separated from the rest of the water, pulp and bone that were still present.
- Storage: Olive oil is stored in large deposits in the Almazara store. From there, only the packaging will remain and it will be ready for marketing.
Now that you know how the oil mill works, do you want to discover our oils? Give yourself a selection of our best extra virgin olive oil!
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