Milling &
malaxation
Inside the mill, two quiet steps — crushing and the slow churn called malaxation — decide how much aroma survives and how much oil comes out. The famous phrase "cold pressed" lives here.
The quiet heart of oil-making
This is where fresh fruit becomes extractable oil — and where heat and time trade flavor for yield. Click through:
Cold extraction (malaxation kept cool) genuinely protects delicate aromatics and volatile polyphenols — it’s a real quality idea. But the term is loosely policed, so it’s a signal, not a guarantee: pair it with a recent harvest date, dark glass, and (above all) the taste test. Once again, the maker is choosing between yield and character.
Spot the claim
Find "cold pressed / cold extracted"
See which of your oils claim it. Note that the cheapest ones often do too — which is why it can’t stand alone.
Stack your signals
Treat "cold" as one signal among several (harvest date, dark glass, origin, taste), never as proof on its own.
Questions
Flashcards
Lock it in
From memory:
- What is malaxation and why does it matter?
- What does "cold extracted" mean and protect?
- How are olives crushed?
- What does longer/warmer malaxation trade?
- Why can’t "cold pressed" stand alone as proof?
Extraction:
centrifuge vs press
The step that separates oil from paste — and the one place in this course where the modern, industrial method is usually the better one. A useful corrective to "traditional = superior."
Getting the oil out
After malaxation, the oil must be separated from water and solids. Click through the methods:
Unlike tequila’s diffuser, the modern centrifuge is generally a quality upgrade: fast, clean, and enclosed against oxygen. The romance of old fiber-mat presses hides a real hygiene and oxidation problem. Keep the lesson honest — "traditional" is not automatically better; judge each step on what it does to the oil, not on nostalgia.
Reframe "traditional"
Notice press romance
Watch for marketing that leans on "stone-pressed" or old-world imagery. It can be lovely — but it isn’t proof of quality, and modern extraction is often cleaner.
Judge by the glass
Return to the taste: a fresh, fruity, defect-free oil is well-made however it was extracted.
Questions
Flashcards
Lock it in
From memory:
- What must extraction accomplish?
- Traditional pressing vs modern centrifuge?
- Why is the centrifuge usually better?
- Two-phase vs three-phase — the difference?
- What can extraction never fix?
Filtration, storage
& the enemies
The oil is made — now the job is to keep it alive. Because it’s fresh juice, four enemies are always working against it. This session is where the perishability of olive oil becomes practical.
Keeping fresh juice fresh
Every storage rule reduces to limiting four things. Click through:
The freshness clock
Set how long since harvest and how the oil is stored. Watch light and heat speed the clock — the reason harvest date beats "best by," and the reason a big clear-glass jug by the stove is the worst case.
Fix your own storage
Audit your shelf
Move olive oil away from the stove and out of the light. Dark cupboard, sealed tight.
Check the dates
Find harvest dates where you can, and plan to finish open bottles within a few months — the clock is already running.
Questions
Flashcards
Lock it in
From memory:
- Name the four enemies.
- Why dark glass or tin?
- Where should oil be stored?
- Harvest date vs best-by — why does it matter?
- Filtered vs unfiltered shelf life?