Judy kelsey, age 11, of Missoula, Mont., for her question:
HOW I5 OLIVE OIL MADE?
Olive oil is fatty oil taken from olives. It is one of the most digestible of the edible fats. Like other fats, olive oil is a high energy food.
In the manufacture of olive oil, the olives are first crushed by corrugated metal rollers in brick trenches. The crushed pulp is then placed in a coarsely woven fabric, and the fabric is folded over it to make a cheese or pulpy block about three feet square and three inches thick. Ten or more of these cheeses are placed one above the other, with slats between them. Then pressure is applied.
The olive oil obtained by this method is then filtered through woolen cloth. Next it is allowed to settle for about 24 hours in funnel shaped tanks.
Next, the sediment that settles to the bottom of the tanks is drawn off. Then the oil is run into settling tanks lined with tin or glass. The oil stands in the tanks for a period of two to five months. Additional sediment that settles out is drawn off several times.
The flavor of olive oil depends upon the variety of olives used, their ripeness when picked, the way they are handled and the length of time they are stored before pressing.
The best oil comes from olives which are picked just after they ripen and before they turn black. If the olives are picked too green, the oil is bitter. If they are picked too ripe, the oil is rancid.
The flesh of ripe olives is about half oil. When the skin is broken, a great deal of the oil comes out of the pulp. Such is called "virgin," or "sublime," or "first expressed" oil. It is the highest grade of olive oil.
A cheap grade of olive oil is made of the cheese pulp left over after the first pressing. The cheeses are broken up, mixed with hot water and then pressed again to produce additional olive oil.
Olive oil's chief ingredient is olein, a glycerin compound.
Olive oil is used chiefly in salad dressings and as a frying fat. It is also used in soap, perfumes and medicines.
Most of the olive oil produced in the world today comes from the Mediterranean countries. Italy and Spain combined usually account for about three fifths of the world olive oil production of about 1.75 million tons each year.
In the United States, California produces about, 1,100 tons of oil every year.
In the United States a large part of the olive industry is based on preparing the fruit for eating. Oil is a sideline, but American oil is as good as the best imported oil.
Only a few places in the United States can support the olive industry by producing the right growing conditions. These places lie in central and southern California where about 32,000 acres of olive orchards produce over 60,000 tons of olives each year. The olive tree grows in the states along the Gulf of Mexico, but it does not bear fruit there.