| Produce
Oil Supply
We have a good supply of 2007 Extra Virgin Olive Oil at our outlets and available for supply from us direct. We are busy with Foster Farmers Markets and supplying our local and Melbourne retail outlets. Contact us direct if you'd like more information about oil availability or if you have olives to be processed. Our oil featured at two Gippsland Tourism promotions this summer and has been used in hamper packs by fund raisers in the Region.
Oil Characteristics
This year our oil is a blend produced from hand picked olives from our own and three other groves in South Gippsland. We cold-processed them at our grove within 24 hours of picking, using our two-phase Italian-made stainless steel processing equipment.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a natural juice from the olive fruit. We do not add chemicals or hot water during the processing and no additives are used during storage or bottling. This oil is rich in antioxidants, has a fatty acid level of 0.3% and is free of faults. The oil is medium to robust (which is usual in Gippsland with its more temperate climate), with a rich grassy flavour and medium pepper that builds and then lingers on the palate.
Oil Prices
Golden Creek Olives 2007 Extra Virgin Olive Oil Recommended retail prices
· 250ml bottle: $12.00
· 2 litre cask: $40.00
Available at
Golden Creek Olives - Fish Creek Phone: 03 5683 2683
Aherns Fruit Market & Health Store - Foster
Fish Creek General Store
Foodworks - Foster
Foodworks - Inverloch
Leongatha Fruit Shop
Oliv Shop, Auburn Road Hawthorn
Roo Fuel - Fish CreekSandy Point General Store
Source Café, Foster
Tidal River General Store - Wilsons Promontory
Waratah Hills Winery - Fish Creek
Windy Ridge Winery - Foster
Wonthaggi Meats
Services
Processing
Process olives for growers, following strict standards to ensure a healthy and fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oil. We use an Olio Mio 60kg two-phase processor, capable of processing up to 100kg per hour. The smallest batch of fruit we can process is 40kg. The largest batch we process per day is 1 tonne.
Olive Processing Costs 2008
|
Batch Size |
Set-up & cleaning |
Price per kg |
GST |
| 40 - 200kg |
$80 |
$0.80 |
+10% |
|
$80 |
$0.70 |
+10% |
| 501kg - 1 tonne |
$80 |
$0.60 |
+10% |
|
All Batches of Olive processing for Oil attract a combined setup and cleaning fee and a Price per kilogram charge. Please book your olive processing date and time, with estimate of olives quantity, ahead of picking, to avoid disappointment.
Containers:
Olive Oil Tin 4 litre Plain incl pourer $4.00 + GST
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Harvesting
Hints
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·
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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).
|
|
·
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Ensure withholding periods for all chemical/fertilizer
applications have been met.
|
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·
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Contact the processing plant before harvesting to enable
scheduling of processing, giving anticipated crop weight
and variety details.
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·
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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.
|
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·
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Keep the leaves, branches and debris to a minimum as
they can unfavorably affect the quality of the oil.
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·
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Deliver the fruit clean and dry; within 24 hours of
harvesting is recommended.
|
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·
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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.
|
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·
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Processing plants cannot accept fruit in containers
that do not meet food safety standards.
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·
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Organise in advance, food-safe containers for the oil.
All oil produced must be dispensed into food-safe containers.
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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. 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: +61 3 5683 2683
Email: contact@goldencreekolives.com.au
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