When I originally was told we would be visiting an olive orchard, I had no idea of all the complexities involved in growing, harvesting, and processing the olive oil to yield the finished product. In order to produce the highly desirable extra virgin olive oil, the olives must be initially processed within 24 hours of coming off the tree. Additionally, the overall process is highly sustainable! The leaves and twigs are fed to local goats, the cleaning water is filtered and returned for irrigation, the pits are used to heat the building, and the inedible fat is taken by a company to generate electricity. The olive oil tasting was fun and interesting too! I had no idea so much thought was put into the production and consumption of olive oil!
