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The difference between hot-pressed oil and cold-pressed oil

There are specific steps that are taken to process the olives and turn them into oil, and there is a specific device that makes a difference in the quality of the oil, which is the olive press, which presses the olives and extracts the oil. The pressing process can be divided into two main types that differ according to the pressing temperature or pressure.

In fact, the difference between the two types of hot-pressed and cold-pressed is:

In cold oil, the olives are mashed under granite wheels that rotate mechanically at room temperature.

Then the dough goes through the kneading stage in a machine called the kneader, which is equipped with sharp blades that separate the oil from the olives.

The extract resulting from the kneading process is put through a strainer consisting of several cylinders that together form a column to carry out the pressure process, and this leads to the separation of the liquid components from the solid components. The solid components are processed again to obtain other oil products, while the liquid component is permanently expelled from it to obtain extra virgin oil.

The cold olive press usually operates at a temperature of 27 to 30 degrees Celsius, and this temperature guarantees the best type of extracted oil, although its quantity will be small.

As for the hot-pressed olive oil, it is extracted in the same way as before, but with one difference, which is that these processes take place at a high temperature, and this guarantees obtaining a larger amount of oil, but with a lower quality.

The main problem with the high temperature is that the temperature rise during the pressing of more than 30 degrees Celsius, which is the degree set by European organizations, affects some sensory parameters of multiple chemicals such as the polyphenols present in the extracted oil.

Thus, the resulting oil will have a different degree of acidity, and it will be more sweet and also lose some of the olive flavor characteristic of the oil. Heat is usually used in the kneading and filtering process, and in washing the presses after pressing.