Lemons and Bitter Oranges

At the end of the production season it is finally time to make the lemon and bitter orange oil!  It is perhaps one of the most rewarding experiences for interns as they get to take part in making a product that is unique and also delicious!  Having a traditional stone mill gives us a great advantage as we are able to introduce other products, such as lemons and oranges, into the mill and crush them so that their flavours are combined with those of the olive oil. The final product is outstanding!

The idea of producing these flavoured oils was actually inspired by the history of the surrounding villages.  In the past,  local stone mills used to operate in almost every village for the production of olive oil. In these mills at the end of each production season, the villagers had to figure out a way to clean the stones and pressing mats using the few materials and resources that were available to them.

The villagers cleverly picked the lemons or bitter oranges from their fields and milled them so that their juices would clean the stones and remove the remaining olive oil from the mill! The olive oil that resulted from this process had such beautiful aromas that it was stored and used specifically for traditional Christmas sweets.

Following our village ancestors’ tradition the interns picked organic bitter oranges and lemons from our grove located in Platanias, a village near the seaside.  They then brought the fruit back to mill and killed two birds with one stone: they took part in making delicious flavoured olive oil as well as cleaning the mill so that its is ready for next years production!!