The Olive Oil Milling Process

Transformation—when we change—and we hope, of course, for the better. We see it everywhere, all the time, constantly. Even the rhythms of the day and the night, the sun rising, the moon suddenly disappearing. We watch it all year long at Bramasole, the bare olive trees that by October have fruit ready to be harvested. And then the ultimate transformation—the oil from the fruit. Every year the yield is different—10% oil from the olive when pressed, 13%, maybe 15%. But that oil in itself goes on to transform us. It’s a gift to us. It is what we pour over our daily bread, the gift of health and goodness. I wanted to share some photos Marco Sallese took of the making of this magical bounty at the olive mill. The entire process is surprisingly quick, just a couple of hours from delivering the olives to the oil miraculously streaming from the spout.