Produce
Oil Supply
Our 2011 Estate grown Extra Virgin Olive Oil selection is available at retail outlets listed below and from us direct. We also attend the Prom Country Farmers Market (Foster) every third Saturday of the month and supply regional and Melbourne restaurants. Please contact us if you’d like more information about oil availability or festivals we’re attending this year.
Oil Characteristics
Leccino - Italian Tuscan variety with a vanilla aroma, grassy flavour and mild pepper. We are very pleased that this oil won a Bronze Medal at the Australian Olive Association's 15th 2011 National Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition.
Coratina - Southern Italian variety with a grassy and clean fruity aroma, mid palate sweetness and a mild peppery finish that lingers. This oil also won a Bronze Medal at the Australian Olive Association's 15th 2011 National Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition.
Frantoio - Italian Tuscan variety, with just a hint of bitterness, this is initially a mild sweet oil, with a pepper that builds to moderate.
Picual - Late picked, Spanish variety with a floral nose, mild bitterness and firm persistent pepper.
We encourage you to taste our oils and choose the product which best matches your expectations and palate. We wouldbe delighted to present a tasting to you at a retail premises or at the farm at a time which suits you best.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a natural juice from the olive fruit. We do not add chemicals or hot water during the processing of our fruit, no additives are used during storage or bottling and the oil is unfiltered. Our oils are rich in antioxidants, have a fatty acid level of less than 0.3% and are free of faults. The four oils each have their own aroma and flavour characteristics with all representing the best qualities of fresh extra virgin olive oil.
Available at
Golden Creek Olives - 2295 Meeniyan-Promontory Road, Fish Creek 3959
Mobile: 0428304477 / 0413016624
Aherns Fruit Market & Health Store Foster
Farmers Market Store Koonwarra
Fish Creek General Store Fish Creek
Foodworks Foster
Foodworks Inverloch
Leongatha Health Foods Leongatha
Moos at Meeniyan Cafe Meeniyan
Olio e Pane Auburn Road Hawthorn
Paddlewheel at Prahran Market South Yarra
Pear Tree Toora
Roo Fuel Fish Creek
Walkerville Kiosk Walkerville
Waratah Hills Vineyard Fish Creek
Windy Ridge Winery Foster
Wonthaggi Meats Wonthaggi
Services
Processing
We purchased a new TEM Oliomio 250 two-phase processor, capable of processing up to 250kg per hour early this year and commissioned it in time for use the past processing season. The smallest batch of fruit we can process is 60kg. The largest batch of olives we process per day is 2 tonne. As well as our own olives, we process olives for other growers, following strict standards to ensure a healthy and fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oil is produced.
Golden Creek Olives became signatories to the Australian Olive Association Code of Practice for olive oil in 2008 and continue to be recognised as producers of oils of excellence.
Olive Processing Costs 2011
|
Batch Size
|
Set-up & cleaning
|
Price per kg
|
GST
|
| 60 - 250kg |
$80
|
$0.75
|
+10%
|
|
|
$80
|
$0.65
|
+10%
|
| 701kg - 2 tonnes |
$80
|
$0.60
|
+10%
|
|
All Batches of Olive processing for Oil attract a combined Setup and cleaning fee and a Price per kilogram charge.
The use of micronised mineral talc or/and pectolytic and cellulolytic enzymes to aid extraction will attract an additional fee, based on the cost of materials used.
It is essential that you book your olive processing date and time with us, with an estimate of olives quantity, well ahead of picking the fruit to avoid disappointment.
Containers:
Olive Oil Tin 4 litre Plain incl pourer- $4.00 + GST
|
Harvesting Hints
|
|
·
|
Review the Maturation Index level of your fruit, starting in April. Have someone help you determine the level if you are unfamiliar with the task. The maturation index assists you to determine the most suitable readiness of your fruit for prime yield and quality. Picking the fruit too early will reduce your yield and the oil produced can be very bitter and won't retain its taste characteristics for long. A fruit analysis test is more accurate (but is expensive).
|
|
·
|
Ensure withholding periods for all chemical/fertilizer applications have been met.
|
|
·
|
Contact the processing plant before harvesting to enable scheduling of processing, giving anticipated crop weight and variety details.
|
|
·
|
Most groves will be picking fruit by hand, using hand or mechanical rakes or branch shakers and having the fruit drop into fruit catches; avoid having fruit contact the ground and above all, refrain from harvesting fallen fruit.
|
|
·
|
Keep the leaves, branches and debris to a minimum as they can unfavorably affect the quality of the oil.
|
|
·
|
Deliver the fruit clean and dry; within 24 hours of harvesting is recommended.
|
|
·
|
Transport the fruit in perforated containers that do not allow the fruit to sweat and transport to the mill as soon as possible after picking. The use of Plastic crates is best, do not use sacks, plastic bags, polystyrene or garbage bins.
|
|
·
|
Processing plants cannot accept fruit in containers that do not meet food safety standards.
|
|
·
|
Organise in advance, food-safe containers for the oil. All oil produced must be dispensed into food-safe containers.
|
|
CALCULATING THE MATURATION INDEX OF OLIVES
This is one of the best ways to work out the optimum time for processing olives at your grove. Alternatively, have your fruit tested to determine optimum yield by an authorized testing agency.
Pick 1Kg of olives and take 100 olives randomly. Separate them into groups according to the skin and flesh colour as follows and count the number in each group. Multiply the number of olives in each group by a factor, as in the following example, add them up and divide by 100 to calculate the index.
| Olive description |
Numbers
|
|
Factor
|
|
|
| Skin is a deep or dark green |
2
|
x
|
0
|
=
|
0
|
| Skin is yellow or yellowish green |
8
|
x
|
1
|
=
|
8
|
| Skin is yellowish with red spots |
15
|
x
|
2
|
=
|
30
|
| Skin is reddish or light violet |
24
|
x
|
3
|
=
|
72
|
| Skin is black and flesh completely green |
19
|
x
|
4
|
=
|
76
|
| Skin is black and flesh is violet half way through |
17
|
x
|
5
|
=
|
85
|
| Skin is black and flesh is violet almost to stone |
12
|
x
|
6
|
=
|
72
|
| Skin is black and all flesh is dark |
3
|
x
|
7
|
=
|
21
|
| Total |
|
|
|
=
|
364
|
Maturation index is 364 100 = 3.64
|
|
There is no absolute Australian standard but it appears that Australian olives are darker than European olives at the same stage of ripeness and hence lower index scores apply. The opinion of an Australian expert is that if you prefer quality to quantity, an index of 3.5 to 4.5 is best. The yield of oil will be lower however. Some farmers want maximum yield and prefer the harvest late, when the olive develops its highest content of oil but with lower pepper and bitterness, so they would prefer an index of 6 or 7. Every cultivar and every grove has a different ideal index but certainly a good proportion of olives need to be ripe (black).
Testing for Extra Virgin Olive Oil classification
We perform free fatty acid analysis on the Extra Virgin Olive Oil batches produced at our processing plant when requested. For any produce to be classified as 'Extra Virgin Olive Oil', one requirement is that the acidity level must be less that 1.%
Tasting analysis of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Andrew can apply his Savantes skills in organoleptic analysis and classifying Extra Virgin Olive Oil produced at our facility.
Contact
Golden Creek Olives
P O Box 87
Fish Creek 3959
Telephone: 0428304477 / 0413016624
Email: contact@goldencreekolives.com.au
