The Oil Mill
Visitors are welcomed in the entrance hall of the company headquarters by beautiful 17th century oil mills. It is a very prestigious presentation and a guarantee that - as regards quality - nothing has changed in the company since 1908.
The oil is produced by dripping: since it is not pressed, it is more delicate and sweet.
The Isnardi Oil Mill enshrines centuries of experience and traditions with avant-garde production methods.
Oil Mill with traditional pressing method
Millstone
By pressing olives with a millstone, a paste is obtained that is spread over special vegetal fibre discs.
Fiscoli
... called "Fiscoli", made of fen grass, coconut fibres or synthetic material
Pressing
The separation of oil from water is achieved through decanting or spinning. A special hand-operated equipment called "lecca" was used in the past.
Lecca
The separation of oil from water is achieved through decanting or spinning. A special hand-operated equipment called "lecca" was used in the past.
Oil Mill with "Isnardi" pressing method
Millstone
In the Isnardi Oil Mill the olives are crushed through a granite roll like in the past undergoing a slow process that does not alter the oil features.
Fiscoli
If the Fiscoli were not perfectly clean, they could frequently lead to defects such as rancid or fusty taste, and that is why they were eliminated from the Isnardi oil mill.
Pressing
Pressing has been replaced by the "sinolea" an equipment containing 5000 thin plates which penetrate into the paste of crushed olives and gradually remove the oil sticking to the thin plates. Vegetation water, crushed olive stones and skins, since they have a different texture, do not stick to the thin plates and are discarded.
To illustrate this method, a simple example may be resorted to: if a knife-blade is dripped into a glass containing a water and oil emulsion, owing to the difference in surface tension, the oil will stick to the blade and will drip, whereas water will remain inside the glass.
An extraordinary range of Extra Virgin oils "from pulp only" succeeded in reviving the past. The Isnardi oil mill developed a special technology to cold-process the pulp of stone fruits only (and not the stone). Today, just like thousands of years ago, a limited quality of real Extra Virgin Olive Oils (must) is produced from the pulp of Taggisca and Italian olives to fulfil the passion and love for genuine and traditional products.
