Historic olive-oil presses and extraction
These two exhibits showcase the evolution of olive oil extraction techniques using pressure. The screw, part of an ancient wooden press, highlights the ingenuity of the ancient Greeks in developing methods for extracting oil from olives. This wooden screw press was widely used in olive oil production areas before the advent of electric hydraulic presses and represented a significant advancement compared to lever or stone-based methods, as it allowed for the application of constant and gradual pressure on the olives, facilitating the extraction of the oil.
Displayed alongside, there is a steel hydraulic press, which symbolizes progress in pressing technology. This press operated on the same principle as the wooden one but offered greater efficiency and durability over time. The fiscoli, bags made of vegetable fibers, were filled with olive paste and then pressed to produce oil.
However, the contact between the olive paste and the fiscoli did not allow for the quality attainable with modern extraction facilities. Nowadays, stainless steel centrifugal decanters ensure a more hygienic and accurate extraction process, preserving the organoleptic properties of olive oil to the fullest.
