Asset 10

Paganelli agricultural company and oil mill: 50 years of passion and innovation

Our family has always been in search of quality, respecting the environment. With the new two-phase decanter that separates the oil directly from the ground olive paste, without the use of mains water, only with the vegetation water naturally present in the olive, very rich in antioxidants. Once the oil has been extracted, the olive pulp (pomace) and the vegetation water together are destined for the BIOGAS production plants.
 
Today the old storage tanks for olive water and mains water (no longer used) are used to recirculate rainwater from the roof, terraces and olive oil mill square. The rainwater is then used for the very important emergency irrigation of our olive groves, essential if we want to obtain a very high quality oil.

Extra virgin olive oil

A good extra virgin olive oil is unique for its distinctive characteristics. Various factors such as the variety, the territory, climate, soil and above all the time of harvest (degree of ripeness of the olives) influence the final characteristics of an oil.
 
It is necessary to start considering extra virgin olive oil as a fundamental ingredient that has the power to enhance, accompany and embellish the flavors and aromas of our dishes. A good extra virgin olive oil immediately captivates the sense of smell. In fact, it is with the nose that we perceive the intensity of the fruitiness. In fact, whether it is ripe fruity or green fruity, it will remember the fruit: olive.
 
Each oil will release more or less intense notes of odors and aromas with vegetal references. The next action is tasting and with the mouth we will be able to perceive especially the bitterness and the spiciness. Both sensations are absolutely positive (antioxidants) and can be identified with different intensities based on the oil being tasted. An oil produced with not completely ripe olives harvested in mid-October will have intense spicy notes with a perception of bitterness (more or less intense depending on the variety).
 
An oil produced with fully ripe olives harvested in November will have a delicate, slightly spicy and predominantly sweet flavour.

Discover the production cycle of our oil

March

Vegetative awakening

In March the vegetative awakening of our olive grove begins.

May

Bloom explosion

Flowering will begin at the end of May and in the first days of June the olive trees will be whitened by beautiful and characteristic clusters of small flowers.

June

Fruit setting

It is one of the most important phases of the life cycle of the Olive Tree: around June 10th the transformation of the flowers fertilized into fruits, very small olives.

June - August

Drupe growth

During the months of June, July and August, the olive must have all the necessary elements to correct growth (water and nutrients).

October

In early October the olive is ready to start harvesting

Inolition is the most important of the maturation phases of the fruit of the olive tree (the olive or "drupe"). At this stage it occurs the increase in the lipid component of the fruit. The fruit yes enriches with oleic and linoleic acid: fundamental elements for the yield of the oil at the mill and for the quality of the oil itself. It mainly occurs from the end of August to the first days of October, and it is very important that it is well supported by a good one summer watering during the growth phase. Very important the drip irrigation system with which our olive groves are equipped.

Much of the water used for irrigation comes from
our storage of rainwater, recovered from roofs and from
square of our oil mill (6000 quintals of rainwater).

With the same system, for biological fertigation, they come given the plants all the nutrients necessary to support a good oiling and final quality of the extra virgin olive oil.

October - November

The harvest

The harvest begins around October 10th and continues until around November 10-15. With electric shakers, shaking the branches, the olives fall onto the nets. The nets, 200 meters long, they are spread out and collected quickly by means of collection rollers driven by our tractor. This makes it faster harvesting and allows the olives to be transformed in extra virgin olive oil a few hours after harvesting, with a great advantage for the quality.

Production in our company mill

The olive arrives at the mill shortly after harvesting. The first operation is correct defoliation and subsequently a good wash to prepare the olive for grounding.

Malaxing phase

After grounding, the malaxing phase is necessary about 20-30 minutes. This is a slow stirring of the ground olive paste; It is intended to break the emulsion between water and oil and let the oil micelles flow into more drops large ones that tend to spontaneously separate from the water.

Final oil separation

After the malaxation phase, the oil is finally ready for separate from the olive paste. This happens by means of a machine called “decanter”, in a single operation. Our two-stage decanter separates the oil without adding mains water, using only vegetation water naturally present in the olive (very rich in antioxidants), with a great advantage for the environment and quality of the oil produced.