Question 1

How is olive oil made?

Accepted Answer

There’s a precise timing when olives are just right for pressing – to produce the right acidity, flavor, and polyphenol levels. This period is a short window right after the olives are ripe, lasting only about two to three weeks.

Maturity stages: 
-Green (immature): bitter, grassy taste; high phenol, high chlorophyll; hard to extract oil from due to lipid vacuoles (fat storage) being fully intact. Highest shelf life.

-Green-yellow-red (Verasion): highest oil concentration, high polyphenol, ripe-fruit characteristics

-Black (mature) – declining polyphenol & chlorophyll, golden and mild-tasting oil, shorter shelf life due to higher FFA content

Once the olives are removed from their trees, stainless steel rollers crush the olives and pits to grind into a paste. This paste then undergoes a process called malaxation, where the paste is stirred until the water separates from the solid particles. This paste is put on mats and pressed further or put into a centrifuge – a machine that spins at high speeds to separate the materials – to extract the oil and water from the paste. Water is then extracted from this mixture, and then we have our delicious extra virgin olive oil!

Question 2

What's the difference between fused vs. infused oil?

Accepted Answer

Fused oils are made by crushing whole, fresh, organic olives together with perfectly ripe, fresh produce, strictly using cold mechanical extraction. This process creates a naturally flavored oil with the ingredients fully integrated during pressing. An example would be our Blood Orange oil, where the olives are crushed simultaneously with the whole fruit of a blood orange.

Infused oils & vinegars are flavored by adding herbs, fruits, or other ingredients to already-pressed oil, typically by steeping or maceration rather than crushing the ingredients together with the olives.

Question 3

What is the base oil of the infused varieties?

Accepted Answer

The base oil is often an Arbequina, as this variety is mild in bitterness  and intensity. The base oil changes every 6 months just like our EVOO  change. The rotation is done usually when the bulk of the oils change  hemispheres.

Oct- Nov crush = Late January, early February.
May- Jun crush = Late August, early September

Question 4

What is Ultra Premium?

Accepted Answer

Ultra Premium (UP) olive oil sets the highest standard, going beyond Extra Virgin with even stricter controls. It is made from the best olives, processed quickly to maintain peak freshness, and must have an FFA level below 0.3%, offering superior taste, freshness, and a higher concentration of healthy compounds like polyphenols, making it the finest grade available.

Question 5

What is the difference between Dark Balsamic and White Balsamic?

Accepted Answer

Dark Balsamic Vinegar is made with Trebbiano grapes and on occasion with  some Lambrusco grape must. The balsamic undergoes cooking and  caramelizing in a copper kettle over an open wood fire before being aged  the traditional Solera Method – Modena, Italy. The balsamic is placed  in old wood barrels that previously held older batches of aged balsamic  vinegar. These barrels, similar to wine barrels, are made from different  woods including oak, chestnut, acacia, cherry, mulberry, ash and  juniper. These woods add character to the vinegar.
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White  Balsamic Vinegar is made by blending white grape must with 100% Italian  barreled aged white wine vinegar, both made from Albana, Trebbiano and  Montuni grapes which grow exclusively in the region of Modena, Italy.  The traditionally cooked grape must is then lightly filtered to remove  any skins from the cooked must and is placed into new white oak barrels  for aging. A white balsamic condimento is less complex and has not  been caramelized over an open wood fire in copper kettles, as the dark  condimento has been.

Tips & Quick Facts
Store in a cool/dark place and sealed when not in use
Sediment on the bottom (Mother) is part of the natural ageing process and is not a defect
The balsamic vinegars found at Olive & Orchard are gluten-free, dairy-free (no pasteurization), no sugar added, and vegan. They are not Kosher certified.
We recommend a shelf life of 5 years for your balsamic vinegar. Vinegar does not really expire, it just becomes more acidic over time.
Only natural flavoring is included in the balsamic - flavors derived from the fruit / herb themselves - botanical essential oils.
Our espresso balsamic does not contain caffeine.

Question 6

Where do you get your olive oil from?

Accepted Answer

We’ve had many people ask where we get our olive oils – where they’re from, who’s our supplier, and so on. Our oils are produced in many areas of the world – Spain, Italy, Chile, and even Australia – but the supplier of our oils is Veronica Foods Company. Below is a brief history of our supplier, their origin, and their philosophy in providing us the best products possible.

Veronica Foods Company began as a small family business from an Italian immigrant in New York City named Salvatore Esposito. The Esposito family soon moved to California and hoped to expand the business in building the first American olive oil mill. However, the majority of the family joined the military at the beginning of World War II and these hopes were put on hold.

In the late 1980s, Michael and Veronica Bradley (granddaughter to the original founder, Salvatore Esposito) inherited Veronica Foods. They knew the company had strayed from a full involvement in the olive oil market and decided to make some changes. They’ve put a high emphasis on researching the best products and developing a “more practical understanding of olive oil that [places] a greater emphasis on application and performance.” They continue to taste oils from origins all over the world, and in 1997, they purchased an olive grove in Tunisia to continue developing quality flavors and products.

Veronica Foods’ mission continues to be to provide customers with the highest quality of products for affordable and comparable prices. They do this through bulk distribution of oil and vinegar to kitchens, restaurants, caterers, and natural foods grocers; and through the assistance of small specialty stores in opening with their products.

Frequently asked questions