Author Archives: Kristy Davies

The different types of oil in the market place

Put simply, Olive Oil is actually the juice of the Olive fruit. The way in which the olives are processed then determines the grade of oil and all the types of olive oil you will see on the supermarket shelf.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the oil extracted from the olives mechanically, without the use of excessive heat, has not been refined or had any chemicals or solvents added. Extra Virgin olive oil also possesses no defects so there are also very strict chemical tests that it must pass. We are lucky in Australia that around 95% of all olive oils produced are Extra Virgin.

Virgin olive oil is a lower grade of extra virgin that has started to oxidize.

Pure and Light Olive Oils have undergone some sort of refinement. Any refining removes the flavour, aromas and any goodness like the antioxidants out of the oil. Light only refers to the flavour as light olive oil has the exact same calories as Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Pomace oil is not really heard of in Australia due to the small quantities we produce – Pomace is the waste product at the end of processing Extra Virgin. It is all the crushed pips and skins. There is a very small amount of oil in the pomace and in countries like Spain and Italy where there is so much of it, it is commercially viable to use heat and use solvents to remove this last little skerrick of oil. This is then refined and becomes your pure and light olive oils.

Lampante olive oil is usually the oil that is made from old olives or olives with defects. This is then processed and refined to be used industrially. Originally it was “Lamp” oil – hence “Lampante”.

We recommend you always buy Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It has the best flavour and is the most beneficial for your health.

Sustainability in the kitchen

Over the past few years we have been investing in making our business more sustainable. One of the biggest challenges is packaging. There are now so many more options available but not all were an easy swap or the packaging didn’t quite fit our needs.

We are super excited that in 2023, one step we will be taking to become more sustainable is changing over 20L plastic drums to 15L Bag in the Box. We supply our hospitality customers with this bulk olive oil size, but increasingly, customers are purchasing for home use too.

Although we would often repurpose our 20L drums, unfortunately we couldn’t reuse them. These drums are not always recycled either. We then set about finding a filling and capping machine to change over to the Bag in the Box packaging that many people would know as a “good bag” for wine. This change will see our bulk oil reduce to a 15L but will mean they are easier for transport and shipping to our non hospitality customers. The cardboard outer is completely recyclable. The inner bladder has a tap that is recyclable and while the actual bag is not recyclable yet, they definitely mean less landfill.

Some other added environmental benefits is less fuel/ transport of packaging down to our grove. The 20L drums would fill large pallets and we would need to send 3-4 pallets at regular intervals. The new Bag in the Box packaging is all flat packed meaning over a years worth of packaging can be sent in just a few pallets.

There are also some added benefits for your olive oil too. The Bag in the Box packaging means less light and oxygen will get into your olive oil. Keeping your delicious olive oil fresher for longer. We hope that more and more home customers will now opt to purchase a 3L tin or 15L Bag in the Box for home. Buying in bulk not only means you save $$ on your oil, you save on trips to the shop and save multiple bottles from landfill by refilling a bottle. Saving our amazing planet can seem very overwhelming for an individual but small changes such as this, makes a big difference.

Spring in the Grove

To deliver our Olive Oil from our grove to your plate is a year long process.

Between July and October the trees are maintained, pruned and other maintenance is carried out on the farm.

By mid November the trees are flowering and pollination occurs.

In January the fruit starts to develop and through February and March the fruit continues to grow and the stone starts to harden.

Around April the oil displaces the water in the fruit and in late May to early June we harvest and then process our olive oil.

So right now it’s Spring in the grove and our trees are full of flowers and little fruit developing. Olive trees produce fruiting stems called ‘inflorenscences’. Each inflorescence can contain 10-20 flowers depending on the type or cultivar of olive.

Lots of olives self pollinate or cross pollinate through wind however, bees and other pollinating insects can be seen on the trees.

Each of these little flowers will produce the olive fruit that will become our next seasons Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Art Series Bottles

In 2021 we had some terrible news, our lovely decorative bottles with the handle was no longer available. This got us thinking about a new bottle that our customers would love to keep on their kitchen benches and refill.

Taking some inspiration from local wineries and gin distilleries… we decided to make an “ART SERIES” bottle.

Now to choose an artist.

This was easy but, would she want to? That was the question?

Having been an admirer of local, Western Australian artist Emma Blyth’s artwork for many years… we asked her if she would create a piece to be featured on our new bottles. She said YES!

Emma is an amazing artist with a love of bright colours and bold brush strokes. Her paintings feature the vast landscapes of WA. From the Kimberley and outback to the coast and South West forests. One constant in most of Emma’s paintings is her love of birds… from large brolgas to small finches and cheeky sulfur crested cockatoos.

This is our commissioned piece “Silvereye in the Grove”.

This cheeky little bird can be found throughout the South West and Great Southern parts of WA. They often form noisy little groups and flit from tree to tree. Their olive and silver plumage camouflages them well in our grove but their cheeky little ‘pseeeps’ can be heard all around.

Emma’s painting was then converted into a digital, graphic file but our Graphic Designer Ash from Greenhouse Studios. This has then been glass printed onto our new decorative bottles. These have been so popular that we have sold out and reprinted twice. We will have more available in early 2024.

Emma will also be working on a new piece for us in 2024 to add to our Art Series… watch this space.