CO-OP PRESSING IS ONLY AVAILABLE DURING PRESSING SEASON, OCTOBER – MID DECEMBER.
If you have access to olive trees that have not been sprayed with chemicals to prevent fruiting, the olives can be pressed for oil. Most olive tree owners, including those city trees lining the streets of older neighborhoods, would welcome free fruit removal.
Co-op Pressing – How it works.
The Queen Creek Olive Mill’s Co-op Pressing program allows anyone to bring in a minimum amount of olives (at least 300 lbs) and we will press those olives, sharing the oil 50/50. We request you adhere to the following guidelines of the program:
- Do not gather olives from the ground, only pick olives fresh off the tree.
- The olives on the tree should be about 60% colorful. In other words, there should be an overall mixture of purple and green olives on the tree.
- Bring us the olives within 24 hrs of picking.
- Please remove the majority of leaves and all twigs or foreign matter.
- A minimum of 300 lbs is required. That is 10 (ten) 5- gallon pails.
Call us at the mill 480-888-9290 and ask to speak with Chris Martin or Rob Holmes to make arrangements to drop off your olives. Your cut of the oil will be ready to pick up the following week.
How much oil will you get?
Most olive trees growing in the valley are Manzanillo olives, a variety planted for canning, and average about 1 gallon for every 100 lbs. Yields vary depending on many factors.
What will the oil be like?
Manzanillo olives make a light, fruity oil. At first the oil may have a slight bitterness, but will mellow quickly. You should also plan on moving the oil to another container within a few weeks or into several smaller air tight bottles. Fresh pressed unfiltered olive oil has a cloudy appearance because of tiny organic elements emulsified in the oil, sometimes including water. In time, these particles will fall to the bottom of your vessel and the oil will clarify. Needless to say it will be the freshest olive oil you’ve ever had.