Where Does it Come From?

This unique extra virgin olive oil is produced by a co-operative of small farmers living on the coast of the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. In this area of the world the climate and soil offer perfect growing conditions for Aegean olives. These are the distinctive Turkish olives that are used to create Wilderness Family Naturals' extra virgin olive oil.

Each farmer maintains ecologically sound orchards, respecting the environment and preserving their historic land located near the legendary city of Troy. They farm tightly controlled organic gardens to produce the finest Aegean Olives available. These families have worked this land for generations, producing olives which are carefully harvested by traditional methods and processed the day they are picked.

How is the oil processed?

Once the olives are collected from the trees, only the best young olives are selected. This assures only the highest quality extra virgin oil. Young olives produce a particularly low acid oil, while older olives will produce oil with higher acidity. However they can't be harvested too young or the oil is bitter. With olive oil the timing of the harvest is everything. Rejected olives are used in either a lower grade olive paste or for composting. Any leaves with the harvested olives are then removed and the fruits washed in cold water. Next, the olives are cold pressed using 27°C (80.6°F) water and gently centrifuged. This centrifugal process is not commonly used by commercial olive oil producers because of its expense and technology. However, when olive oil is produced by centrifuge, the resulting oil is a far superior product. This oil is never exposed to heat and no chemical additives adulterate it's purity. This high quality, raw olive oil is then packaged for our customers in dark-green glass containers and stored under organic sanitary conditions. Each production run is carefully tested to ensure all quality control standards are met. It has a maximum acidity of 0.8% and contains a full-bodied olive flavor. Because it is produced under cold conditions and remains raw, there is also maximum nutrient retention.