Spain Trip #36: Granada:Olive Oil Tour part 1

Tom and Rob in the Olive Grove of  Niguelas

One excursion that we went on from our time in Granada, Spain was an "Olive Oil Tour." Our tour group took a bus to the Lecrin Valley, just south of Granada. The Lecrin Valley is a beautiful, green, orchard-covered area at the foot of the dramatic Sierra Nevada mountains and the orchard we visited was in the town of Niguelas. Settlements in the valley date to prehistoric times. There are many Olive groves there, and we had the chance to tour one and learn how olive oil was and is now made and had a taste test. Those are some of the things you'll learn about in today's blog, in addition to Olive Facts!

OLIVE FACTS
1) They're harvested in the winter

Olive press "Mill of Blood" 

2) They're naturally bitter, and sweetened through processing
3) Green olives are from early harvests, black olives are from later harvests.
4) There are actually 272 varieties of olives!
5) Even after 500 years, trees still produce olives!
6) The quality of the olives grown improve as the tree ages.
7) Olive trees need pruning to help growth, and require a lot of sun and not much water.
8)  Irrigation channels in the Olive Grove that have been used since the Roman times are still used today! 

MOLINA DE SANGRE - This is the name of the Olive mill we visited. Literally, it means "Mill of Blood." That's because the type of mill was invented by the Romans, who used slaves to make it operate. This type of mill was used until 1900 to crush the olives.

The Giant Oil Press- Arm

THE GIANT OIL PRESS - This huge device looks like a giant arm, built of many pieces of large lumber. It's about 5 feet high and 60 feet long! The arm was suspended from one end, where it was attached to a wall. Men would hold onto the other side of the "arm" to weigh it down. The olives were placed underneath the arm, so when it was weighed down, it would press out liquid and pulp into several woven mats that covered vats where the oil would drain. The liquid that came from the pressed olives were water and a vegetable pulp.

A SECOND HOT PRESS - was used to make the olive oil into soaps, etc.

An 1800s Olive Press

OLIVE PITS HAD A USE! - Olive pits were sold as a fuel to burn in home fireplaces to provide winter warmth, and used create a fire to cook over.

NEXT: The Old Process vs. New Process of Making Olive Oil