Unfiltered Oil
For generations, the Farchioni family has been preserving the quality as well as the organoleptic and healthy characteristics of extra virgin olive oils. Trying not to take anything away from what nature provides us with. Therefore, we do not filter them.
Unfiltered extra virgin olive oil is an extra virgin oil containing minute droplets of water that were contained within the olive fruit, and it is these tiny droplets that give the oil its classic “cloudy” or “veiled” look. For our “Il Casolare” line of extra virgin olive oils, we decided not to put the freshly pressed oil through a filtration process. This enables us to obtain a product rich in poly-phenols, which, in addition to being the oil’s natural defence against ageing, are responsible for its characteristic flavours and retention of aromas. The presence of these minuscule water droplets is not to be considered a defect. On the contrary, it’s proof of an oil’s authenticity. This is why we define Il Casolare as an "all natural” oil. The success of this product is just a reflection of the growing trend in whole foods, it’s also a sign of the consumer's recognition and appreciation of an unfiltered cold-pressed oil with high quality chemical/physical and organoleptic characteristics. Given that bioactive phenolic compounds interact with the materials used in filtration processes, unfiltered oils contain, on average, a higher concentration of bioactive phenolic compounds than filtered oils from the same batch.
The amount of phenolic compounds removed by filtration is variable but generally exceeds 30% of their initial content. The phenolic substances most affected by the filtration process are the secoiridoids. These compounds are the most active from a health and sensory point of view, as well as helping to stabilize the oil.
In an unfiltered oil, these compounds accelerate the fading of the “hot” and “bitter” notes to make the oil more balanced, pleasant and complex. Not all varieties of olives, however, have a sufficient quantity of phenols for the oil to preserve well if unfiltered. So only a few extra virgin olive oils obtained from carefully selected cultivars can go into the making of an unfiltered extra virgin olive oil.
The Farchioni family has been studying such matters for generations and is recognized as a world-leading producer and distributor of unfiltered extra virgin olive oils.
