Are olive oils made using the traditional method of mat pressing better than those made using the modern centrifugal process?
Absolutely not. Here is one case where the use of „traditional‟ methods do not guarantee the highest quality. Most olive oil experts would agree that the modern continuous system favoured by most of the world’s commercial olive producers result in more consistent defect free oils with as good or better aroma and flavour than what would be achieved by pressing with a mat press. The reason is simple. By their nature, the mats used in traditional presses are absorbent and therefore retain oil after being used. As cleaning the mats to a near new ‘spotless’ standard is impractical in most larger scale commercial environments, most mats will eventually contain oil that is either rancid or has a fermented taste character. All subsequent oil produced from those same will also display these undesirable taste defects. Having said that some traditional mat producers do maintain impeccable standards, and as such the oils that they produce have pristine flavours. This is usually the case when a pro
