Harvesting
Academia Barilla olives are picked at the perfect degree of maturity, not overripe. They are firm and crisp.
Olives are never allowed to touch the ground because they would bruise, and this could initiate the undesired fermentation process.

Washing and Grinding
The olives that are used to make Academia Barilla's extra virgin olive oil are washed to remove any dust. Then they are ground into pulp immediately afterwards.
To achieve the high quality extra virgin olive oil of Academia Barilla, no more that 24 hours should pass between the harvesting and the grinding.

Pressing
In the traditional production method, the freshly ground pulp is spread on special woven sheets, layer after layer. Stacks of these sheets are then vertically pressed or spun (to achieve centrifugal effect). Through this method the oil is extracted from the pulp.  During the pressing no additional heat is applied to aid the oil extraction.  Whether an olive oil qualifies as extra virgin depends on the level of its acidity - in order to qualify, the level has to be below 1%.
Academia Barilla DOP extra virgin olive oils have to meet a standard that is more demanding still: 0.5% acidity or below.

Filtering
Many producers choose to filter their olive oil, others do not. All Academia Barilla extra virgin olive oils have been filtered.

Click here to visit the Online Store and purchase Academia Barilla regional D.O.P. Extra Virgin Olive Oils.