However, those still hovering about in Croatia, should not miss the opportunity to witness the manufacture of this high-quality, extremely healthy oil once. At the beginning of October, the numerous oil mills in Croatia are starting their production. Then, the owners of the adjoining olive groves take their crops to one of the numerous mills in order to have them processed to ”liquid gold‟.
Many of the oil mills are happy about any visitors willing to learn more about the processing of their products typical for the region. However, unlike earlier times, oilve oil is generally manufactured in modern, computer-operated facilities nowadays. This kind of processing does not constitute any real disadvantage, though, compared to the past but it even protects the high-quality ingredients and the taste. Both will only be preserved when a temperature of 27 degrees Celsius will not be exceeded during pressing.
Visitors are especially welcomed at the Grubic oil mill in Bale/Valle, in the southern part of Istria. Here, the olive oil is not just pressed, but a part of it is directly brought to the market, too. And, as indicated above, the consumption of high-quality olive oil depends as well on the individual taste, you can try it directly on the spot. The hearts of gourmets beat faster with the variety of products that range from ”simple‟ salad oil to single-origin oil made of the fruits of olive trees at least 200 years old.
[dimage url=”https://www.sea-help.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019-09-30_news_seahelp_360-grad_360-grad_olivenoel_museum-scaled.jpg” ontrol=true zoom_level=”20″ anim_speed=”-0.5″ auto-rotate=true]Exhibition of old machines for the production of olive oil
SeaHelp-recommendation:
Copy the locals and don’t mess around when it comes to real good olive oil. Don’t give faith to travelling hawkers along the road but buy from a dealer in whom you have confidence, however, the best thing to do is buying directly from the oil mill. Many of the ”wild‟ merchants, though, take advantage of their ignorant customers‘ taste who want to use olive oil but don’t like its typical olive taste. For this reason, they often mix it with cheap vegetable oil or tell you adventurous stories why it tastes the way it does. And even allegedly high-quality oils which you can aquire in Italian delicatessen shops in Germany or Austria unfortunately quite often share that destiny.
This is why it’s so important to buy from the Croatian oil mills directly in order to get the authentic olive oil and not the dubious, mixed stuff. The Grubic oil mill and other suppliers as well are always happy to deliver to Germany or Austria.
Further impressions of the Grubic oil mill in Bale/Valle:
[dimage url=”https://www.sea-help.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019-09-30_news_seahelp_360-grad_360-grad_olivenoel_muehle-scaled.jpg” ontrol=true zoom_level=”20″ anim_speed=”-0.5″ auto-rotate=true]Modern, computer-controlled plant for the production of olive oil, even for higher quality ingredients