Olives and oil

It is known that Menorca produced good olive oil; in fact, stone mills can still be found in many places, used to crush olives and make supplies for the household or farm. Just over a century ago, Alcaufar still had around 1,500 olive trees planted, from which it was said the best oil in Menorca was obtained. There were also many olive trees in places such as Ses Tavernes in Ciutadella and Son Gall in Alaior.

The old way of making oil was roughly as follows: Once the olives were harvested, they were stored for a few days to clean them of leaves and soil. Then they were passed through the mills or trulls, which were stone wheels used for pressing. When the olives came out of the mills, they formed a paste that was placed inside circular esparto mats (esportins). Thirty-six of these were stacked one on top of another in the press, and by pressing them, the oil was extracted and collected in a basin. This first oil was called virgin oil and was the one used in cooking.

After the first pressing, the olive paste was gathered again and scalded with two liters of boiling water per esportí. Then it was pressed again, and the oil from this second pressing was used for lighting lamps and also for making soap.

How oil was stored

Oil is very important in Menorcan cuisine and gastronomy, almost as much as tallow and butter. It is not only used for everyday dishes, but it also plays an important role in baking and pastry-making, such as fish formatjades, coques with pinches, rubiols…

Once olive oil was produced, it had to be stored and preserved. Virgin oil, or good oil as Menorcans used to call it, was kept in large earthenware jars (alfàbies) with a capacity of 200 pounds, that is, about 80 liters. The oil was left to rest for a month so that it could settle and clarify. After that, it was ready for consumption. In kitchens, smaller jars were also used for daily supplies.

If the oil needed to be preserved for several years, sea sponges were boiled, washed several times, and soaked in vinegar. Then they were tied with a cord and hung inside the jars so that the sponge remained submerged about halfway down. The sponges attracted the watery particles formed by fermentation, allowing the oil to be preserved for at least three or four years.

It is known that in Menorca olive trees were grafted onto wild olive trees (acebuches). In fact, Diodorus states that the Carthaginians were already doing this a thousand years before Christ, and that in the Christian era there were already many wild trees grafted with olive. These grafted trees produced fruit earlier than olives grown from pits or cuttings, which is why nurseries of wild olives were established in ancient times.

Oil was also made from wild olives, which experts say is of higher quality than regular olive oil, although its production is smaller.