Olive Oil Drops
Episodes
90 What an oil mill looks like: Storing and Bottling
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Funnel or vacuum bottling? And when it comes to preserving extra virgin olive oil, is nitrogen, argon, or a protective air layer the best choice
89 What an oil mill looks like: The Separator and the Filter
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Cotton filters, natural decanting, freezing, or crystallization: Which method harms extra virgin olive oil the most?
88 What an oil mill looks like: the Decanter
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why oil needs decanting like wine, how 2 and 3 stage decanters differ, and what “differential speed” really means
87 What an oil mill looks like: the Malaxer
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
An enamel bathtub and olive oil — what could they possibly have in common? And do we really need all those coils, reels, and metal spirals to make e...
86 What an oil mill looks like: the Crusher
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you have to stab olives to make olive oil? Or bash them with a hammer? Maybe squeeze them between disks and cones? How are olives actually crushed?
85 What an oil mill looks like: the scales, the washing machine, the leaf remover
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do olives need to be washed? Is certified weighing required? How an Olive Mill Works: The Scales, the Washer, and Leaf Remover
84 How do you design the space that houses an oil mill?
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do you design the space that houses an olive mill? It takes more than just a site visit!
83 Olive leaves: how to make money from a healthy byproduct, Pt. 3
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How are liqueurs and dietary supplements made from olive leaves? Are they really that profitable?
82 Olive leaves: how to make money from a healthy byproduct, Pt. 2
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do you process olive leaves? How much can you make? Sold whole or in tea bags? And how are they used?
81 Olive leaves: how to make money from a healthy byproduct, Pt. 1
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is it really possible to earn more from olive leaves than from making olive oil?
80 Celebrating 25 Years of Slow Food’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil Guide
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How does Slow Food's Extra Virgin Olive Oil Guide work? Who writes it and chooses the oils? How does a producer get into it? What is Great Slow Oil? A...
79 New labeling regulations: everything changes, nothing changes
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
1308/2013, 2022/2104, 2568/1991, 2022/2105… EU regulations come and go, but in the end, nothing really changes. Just more legal texts saying the sam...
78 Can You Really Make Oil from Cod Liver?
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is cod liver oil really good for kids, or just an outdated childhood ritual?
77 Can Olive Oil Be Made Without Olives?
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Water, Flaxseeds, Vinegar, Saffron..Can You Really Make Olive Oil Without Olives?
76 Olive oil market: How NOT to sell online
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"‘I sell unpasteurized, unfiltered olive oil, no modifications in the cellar.” But is this really the right approach to selling extra virgin olive...
75 Should olives be completely leaf-free before milling, or can some leaves stay in?
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is it better to keep the leaves during the milling process, even adding more if necessary, or should the olives enter the mill completely leaf-free? W...
74 The golden rule: harvest today, mill today!
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Should olives be piled up to dry, like our grandparents did, or sent straight to the mill in a refrigerated van?
73 What is the right time to harvest olives?
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is it possible to precisely determine the right time to harvest olives and make oil? Why is it wrong to harvest olives when they change color?
72 When is an olive oil “Genuine” or “Typical”?
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Can a virgin oil with defects be considered genuine? And what about an oil extracted using talc powder? Is the adjective 'typical' really an assurance...
71 Pizza and olive oil: beyond the drizzle!
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How to Use Pizza to Increase the Value of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Want to Double Your Extra Virgin Olive Oil Profits and Boost Pizza Prices by 20-30%?...
70 Want more yield? Try talcum powder in your olive mill!
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Can you increase olive oil yield and improve flavor without fraudulent practices? Absolutely — and sometimes, it’s necessary!
69 Kaolin clay: the natural solution to the olive fly problem
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Just as garlic wards off Dracula, kaolin clay repels olive flies. Discover how this natural, affordable mineral keeps pests away through a simple phys...
68 Zeolitite: the versatile rock
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Zeolititte: find out how this versatile rock, when added to soil or sprayed on plants, delivers remarkable benefits!
67 Do you really want to become an olive oil expert?
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How does one become an olive oil expert? How many olive oils do you need to taste before you become skilled? And how many books must you read to know ...
66 The Olive Oil Market: Why Rely on Experts?
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
An oil expert is often thought to say nothing new or, worse yet, to repeat things that are already known. But is this really the case? Could an oil ex...
65 The olive oil market: overcoming distrust among producers
03 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“I’d rather not harvest olives than unite with my neighbor!" Is this really the best way to approach the olive oil market? "My neighbor sells oi...
64 Margarine: Should you avoid it or make it at home? Pt. 2
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With all the fats there are, why is margarine used if it is detrimental to health? More importantly: is it truly harmful? And can it be made at home?
63 Margarine: Should you avoid it or make it at home? Pt. 1
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hydrogenated and Saturated Fats, Colorants, Emulsifiers, Preservatives, and Fractionated Oils: Should We Opt for Butter Instead?
62 The olive oil market: let's at least avoid the biggest mistakes
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Want to lose customers? Write “hand-harvested” or “vegan” on the label, use one-liter bottles, don't indicate cultivars... Here are the most c...
61 The olive oil market: understanding consumer
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Consumers are defined as individualistic, populist, inconsistent and emotional. They base their choices on personal experience and beliefs. Do we, as ...
60 The olive oil market: how to sell olive oil
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"0 km food", mass distribution, internet, institutions, globalization: are these really the basic tools for selling oil?
59 Indigenous forgotten cultivars of Italy Pt. 3
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Aspirina, Orfanello, Gentile di Mafalda o Lardaia extra virgin olive oil? Or cured white olives? Let’s discover forgotten cultivars, their rich hist...
58 Italian regional cultivars Pt. 2
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What are the most common Italian regional cultivars?
57 Italian national cultivars Pt. 1
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What are the most common Italian cultivars?
56 Making olive oil soap at home
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Why not try making olive oil soap at home using your favorite oil? It requires only a few ingredients and is easy to make.
55 Foreign countries’ national cultivars
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What cultivars are typical of foreign countries? Oblica, Azapa, Hardy's Mammoth, Nikitskaia, Chemlal de Kabylie, Zaity, Soury,…
54 International cultivars from non-European countries, Part 3
10 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What are the international cultivars from non-European countries?
53 International cultivars of European origin, Part 2
06 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What are the international cultivars from Italy and Greece?
52 International Cultivars of European origin, Part 1
22 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What are the international cultivars from Spain, Portugal, and France?
51 Cultivar is not synonymous with variety
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If "cultivar" is a subspecies of the olive tree, what is "variety"? And how many "breeds" of cultivar are there?
50 Blue or Red? The unrevealed olive oil tasting glass
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why is the tasting glass cobalt-blue or garnet yellow color? How is it washed? How is it warmed? What material is made of?
49 Environmental labeling: Mandatory but almost unknown!
05 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
GL 71: Do I really have to write it on my glass oil bottle? And where do I write it? And how do I write it? Environmental sustainability also comes th...
48 Do you want to lose a friend? Taste his olive oil…
19 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Question: “Since you are an expert, would you taste MY oil and give me an honest opinion?” Answer: “Do you want to keep the friendship, or do yo...
47 Why should you not choose an extra virgin based on price?
28 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If I were faced with three identical bottles of extra virgin olive oil priced at €3.99, €8.99, and €13.50 respectively, which one would you buy...
46 Eliminating alternate bearing can (and should) be done
14 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Off” and “on” year: it is a belief amongst olive growers rather than a real feature of the olive tree!
45 Low acidity? Who cares?
31 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We do not care about extra virgin olive oil’s acidity because it cannot be tasted in the mouth and it is useless as information for a consumer.
44 Polyphenols
17 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Polyphenols. Are they just natural preservatives in extra virgin olive oil, or is it true that they also have anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-agi...
43 Virgin olive oil - nonexistent?
03 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On the market one can find extra virgin olive oil, olive oil, olive pomace oil and olive oil based dressing. But no virgin olive oil. Why?
42 Glass, plastic, metal or bag in box?
19 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
From amphora in terracotta to bag-in-box, an oil container has evolved over time. But still, in many parts of the world, olive oil is sold in plastic....
41 Caustic soda-cured olives from supermarkets
29 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What does caustic soda have to do with cocktail olives? How are table olives made? Is it true that the chemical curing process for table olives was in...
40 What MAY be written on the olive oil label
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
May I write the name of the cultivar on the label? Yes, no, don’t know…The correct answer is: not always!
39 Olive fruit fly: if you know it, you are able to defeat it!
01 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ancestral traditions and ritual dances do not eliminate the olive fly. Neither do pre scheduled treatments. Knowledge and prevention are the best tool...
38 Three extra virgin recipes
15 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Caprese, Panzanella and Gazpacho: three easy and simple recipes. Impossible to make without extra virgin olive oil! But which one to choose?
37 Nutrition declaration is not always mandatory
01 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It is not always mandatory to include a nutrition declaration on the olive oil’s label! And if you really need to do it….In Italy, you can easily ...
36 The great “Truffle oil” scam
18 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Is it true that truffle oil can only be produced chemically? Is it true that truffle flavored oil cannot be made using the precious tuber?
35 What MUST NOT be written on the label
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
First cold pressing, genuine, mellow, robust, vigorous, with sweet almond notes, cold extraction, rustic, whole…Are we really sure that these words ...
34 How to make the perfect flavored olive oil at home
07 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Fresh or dry aromas? Cold or hot oil? And what about botulinum? Let’s learn to make flavored extra virgin olive at home in a safe and simple manner.
33 What we MUST write on the olive oil label
23 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The less we write, the less mistakes we risk making… but what information must extra virgin labels contain?
32 What is a label? Where do I place it? How do I make it?
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is it possible to glue a crooked label? And can it be tied with a string? May I place the label on the bottom of the container? What is “the same fi...
31 How to preserve olives in brine at home
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is it possible to make table olives for aperitif at home? Do olives need to be green or black? Big or small? Dry or packed with oil? Do I need to use ...
30 Your olive oil bottle has a Declaration of Compliance, doesn’it?
12 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What is “a container measuring bottle”? Is it true that the container too must have a label? Why is it mandatory to have a Declaration of Complian...
29 The lost world of our grannies' olive oil
28 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Through Marco’s personal memories, I tell you a common story of generations of Italians
28 How to increase oil yield?
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Olive oil yield? It is the fault of nitrogen, talc, vacuum pressure pump, microwaves, temperature and..Is it possible to get 22-23 liters of oil from ...
27 An olive oil yield? (It is not) all the miller’s fault
27 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why can the oil yield vary by 100% for the same number of olives? And the millers: Do they really use low yields to cheat gullible olive growers out o...
26 Anti-refilling cap? No, a praise to olive oil cruet
08 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is an olive oil cruet really so dangerous that it had to be outlawed? Yet, it has been in use since Ancient Rome and still today it is a sought after ...
25 Olives are not only harvested by hand
23 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
By hand or mechanically? By day or night? But first and foremost: How are olives harvested?
24 I pick olives today and…I go to the mill straight away
26 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is harvesting olives with friends and family really a good method to ruin oil?
23 What is the right container for olive oil and how to clean it?
13 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What type of containers shall we use for olive oil? Do containers need to be new or can we reuse the same containers as they” become impregnated wit...
22 Extra virgin olive and mascarpone: four unusual recipes
27 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Four recipes with extra virgin olive oil and mascarpone: paring olive oil with cheese is not often done in contemporary cuisine. However, with 538 oli...
21 When shall we pick olives: when fully ripe or still green?
30 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why is it wrong to pick olives when they change color? When are olives for making oil harvested: when green or black or when they change color? In Sep...
20 First cold press… For those easily seduced with words
16 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why buy first cold pressed olive oil? Because you cook with slogans and season salad with words? What if instead you really are interested in buying e...
19 Why does olive oil need to be filtered?
16 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Would you buy milk or white wine with sediment on the bottom? And mineral water with sandy sediment on the bottom of the bottle? No? Would you buy ...
18 How do we recognize and memorize smells? Part 2
02 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What does Monica Bellucci have to do with the scent of olive oil? What is “olfactory memory” and how is it created?
17 How do we recognize and memorize smells? Part 1
19 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is it true that scents do not exist? And how can we memorize them if they do not exist?
16 New tech in olive oil mill
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's very interesting to find a new tech in olive oil mill
15 What’s the best oil for frying?
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Is it true that we can fry without oil? Is it better to use extra virgin olive oil, olive oil or vegetable oil for frying? How do we get “light” f...
14 Oxygen suffocates olive oil
10 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If we leave an olive oil bottle open, will it spoil just like wine? No: It will spoil even more as it contains no preservatives.
13 Is extra virgin olive oil too expensive?
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What costs more: A liter of olive or engine oil? If it is true that olive oil at 4 Euros a liter is a scam, then how can engine oil at 30 Euros a lite...
12 Are PDO, PGI and DE.CO indeed synonyms for quality?
12 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Can we be sure that extra virgin olive oils with protected designation of origin are actually better?
11 What’s the best oil for cooking?
19 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Each cooking temperature has its oil: ice cream, aperitif, sauce, mayonnaise, deep-fry, cutlet, salad, roasts…What about grilled bread? Would you dr...
10 Light kills olive oil
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If olive oil needs to be kept in the dark, why are a great number of bottles at supermarkets transparent and placed in upper shelves near the ceiling ...
9 Fabulous olive trees: a green thumb or the right choice of plants?
17 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How to choose olive trees to plant? Where to buy them? What cultivars to select? How important is the climate or my customer’s taste for these cho...
8 What’s in a drop of olive oil?
02 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Does Extra Virgin olive oil indeed have anti-cancer properties? Does it really contain substances that lower cholesterol and is its fat component ben...
7 How is olive oil made: Once upon time there was a stone olive press
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Is the stone olive press thing of the past? How exactly is oil extracted from olives?
06 At what temperature is olive oil stored?
21 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
At what temperature should we keep olive oil at home? What happens when it freezes? Is it better to keep olive oil in the cellar or in the kitchen cab...
05 A perfect deep fry
10 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How to make a perfect deep fry. And a smoke point…….is it really that harmful?
04 Wine is tasted from the glass…and olive oil?
24 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Is there such a thing as a glass made deliberately for olive oil tasting? How do we taste olive oil? What it should taste like in the mouth? What it s...
03 Black olives, green olives, monovarietal oil or table olives?
12 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Are olives green and black like grapes are white and red? What is a monocultivar oil? Are there oil olives and table olives?
02 Is olive oil from the mill always extra virgin?
05 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What’s the difference between “extra virgin olive oil” and “olive oil”? Is “refined olive oil” particularly sophisticated olive oil or ...
01 Which came first: olive oil or butter?
05 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Which came first: olive oil or butter? Who “invented” olive oil and why? It is true that the olive is an African plant?
00 Why a Podcast about Olive Oil?
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This is Milena, welcome to Olive Oil Drops; podcast created by Marco Antonucci in Italian for people who want to know everything or almost everyth...