Photographs of nature, places and objects that have caught my eye.

Φωτογραφίες απο την φύση, απο τόπους και αντικείμενα που μου χτύπησαν στο μάτι.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Doing it like in the old times. Κάνοντας πράγματα, όπως τον παλιό καιρό.

Most of you may have not seen something like this before. In the photograph above, you can see an old oil mill, which the owner has found somewhere in the area where the hotel is, and his love for old things, has reconstructed at a corner of the hotel grounds. I have seen a few myself before in Crete, similar to this one, but only one actually on work, some fifty years ago. In an earlier post of mine last June, I have shown you a similar one, not in working condition though. For the benefit the guests of the hotel, this old "factory", was set up in motion again. And I photographed the whole event to show you how olives were processed in older times, to produce olive oil, a product so valuable in our diet.
Οι περισσότεροι από εσάς δεν θα έχετε δεί κάτι σαν κι αυτό που φαίνεται στην παραπάνω φωτογραφία. Είναι ένας μύλος/ελαιοτριβείο, για το άλεσμα του ελαιόκαρπου όπως γινόταν παλιά. Ο ιδιοκτήτης του ξενοδοχείου το ανακάλυψε κάπου στην περιοχή, και η αγάπη του για τα παλιά πράγματα το ξανάστησε σε μια άκρη του κήπου. Εγώ έχω δεί μερικά σαν κι αυτό στην Κρήτη, αλλά μόνο ένα και μόνο μια φορά να δουλεύει μ' αυτόν τον τρόπο πριν καμμιά πενηνταριά χρόνια. Σε μια παλιότερη ανάρτησή μου, του περασμένου Ιουνίου, δείχνω κάτι σαν κι αυτό, όχι αποκαταστημένο τόσο καλά ούτε σε κατάσταση  που να μπορεί να δουλέψει. Για χάριν των φιλοξενουμένων στο ξενοδοχείο, αυτό το "εργοστάσιο" ξαναδούλεψε, όταν ήμουν εκεί και για χάριν σας, τράβηξα φωτογραφίες από όλη την διαδικασία.

Above, you can see the press, where the oil is extracted, after the olives are crushed to pulp at the mill.
Από πάνω βλέπετε την πρέσσα όπου παράγεται το λάδι, μετά το άλεσμα του ελαιόκαρπου. 
And this is the beautiful engine powering the facility. Literally one horse power engine.
Και αυτή είναι η όμορφη μηχανή που κινεί την εγκατάσταση. Κυριολεκτικά ενός ίππου.
The valuable ripe olives are collected from the trees....
Ο πολύτιμος ελαιόκαρπος συλλέγεται από τα δένδρα....
...and is put under the stone wheels of the mill...
...και τοποθετείται κάτω από τις μυλόπετρες....
... the engine is connected to the system...
... η μηχανή συνδέεται με το σύστημα...
... engine might be stalling and backfiring a little at first...
... μπορεί η μηχανή να κομπιάζει και να ζορίζεται στην αρχή..
...but after a few revolutions, it warms up and running smoother...
...αλλά ύστερα από μερικές στροφές ζεσταίνεται και λειτουργεί πιο ομαλά...
...and the olives start being crushed to pulp...
...και οι ελιές αρχίζουν ν' αλέθονται και να γίνονται πολτός...
...until the pulp looks to something like this...
...μέχρι που ο πολτός μοιάζει με κάτι σαν κι αυτό και  το λάδι αρχίζει να διακρίνεται..
...and the oil starts to be visible..
...then the engine is put to idle...
...τότε η μηχανή δουλεύει εν στάσει...
...the pulp is taken to the press...
...ο πολτός μπαίνει στο πιεστήριο...
... where the liquids are squeezed away from the solid parts...
... όπου τα υγρά αποχωρίζονται από τα στερεά κατάλοιπα με στίψιμο...
...and now you can see the golden color of fresh virgin oil flowing into a wooden container, where it will be left to settle for a while and the heavier liquids like water will go to the bottom and the pure oil will be collected from the top.
... και τώρα βλέπετε το αγνό χρυσό χρώμα του φρέσκου παρθένου ελαιόλαδου που τρέχει σ' ένα ξύλινο δοχείο, όπου τα βαρύτερα υγρά θα κατασταλλάξουν στον πάτο και από πάνω θα μαζευτεί το αγνό λάδι.

PS. This was a long one but I had to show you the whole process in one post. I also feel the need to clarify a few more points. This is the old way oil was extracted from the olives. A large percentage of the product was lost during the process which was not perfect, but it was the only way to extract oil in the old days. Now, modern oil producing facilities are made everywhere in the oil producing regions of Greece, which work with centrifugal drums to extract the oil from the pulp, after the olives are washed and crashed. Not a drop of oil is lost during this modern process which is all automated, but I think I still miss the taste of the oil produced the old way.
.
Υ.Γ. Ήταν λίγο μακρυνάρι η ανάρτησή μου, αλλά νομίζω πως δεν θα έπρεπε να την σπάσω σε δυό η περισσότερες, για να σας δείξω πως γινόντουσαν τα πράγματα παλιότερα. Θάθελα επίσης να διευκρινήσω ένα δυό σημεία. Αυτός ήταν ο παλιός τρόπος παραγωγής του ελαιόλαδου. Ένα μεγάλο μέρος του λαδιού χανότανε στην διαδικασία που δεν ήταν τέλεια αλλά ήταν ότι υπήρχε εκείνη την εποχή. Σήμερα, σύγχρονα ελαιοτριβεία έχουνε κατασκευαστεί σε όλες τις εαλιοπαραγωγικές περιοχές της Ελλάδας, όπου αφού καθαριστούν πλυθούν και αλεστούν οι ελιές, το καθαρό λάδι εξάγεται με φυγοκέντρηση. Δεν χάνεται ούτε μια σταγόνα κατά την διάρκεια της παραγωγής που είναι τελείως αυτοματοποιημένη, αλλά εγώ νομίζω πως έχω χάσει την υπέροχη γεύση που είχε το λάδι που παραγότανε με τον παλιό τρόπο.


33 comments:

Pat Tillett said...

It may not have been very effctive, but they were very inventive back in the old days.
great photos Costas!

Dimitrios Tilis said...

Συνεννοημένοι ήμασταν;
Πολύ εμπεριστατωμένη σχεδόν ρεπορταζιακή,η παρουσίαση!
Άκρως ενδιαφέρουσα και φωτογραφικά και θεματολογικά!

Babzy.B said...

Very interesting post and beautiful pictures , i'm sure the olive oil is great ! Thanks for your nice comment on my blog :)

Richard said...

Thank You, Costas, I wish You the best weekend also. The header is AWESOME! It would be nice to have that image as a banner on my blog...If U are interested in banner exchange, let me know.

Cezar and Léia said...

Your post is a great and rich report about olive oil and I love it!
Very interesting work there, I'm delighted here with the pictures and details about olive oil process.
Thanks a lot!
Léia

Ola said...

That was interesting!Thnak you for posting, I saw the machinery before but never working. Greetings!

Anonymous said...

Buenas tomas amigo!

Unknown said...

Thank you all for your nice comments my friends. It was also a surprise for me to see the think reassembled and working, as all those are museum items in our days. I have seen a few similar set-ups in my earlier years in my village in Crete and other places. The principle was the same. Olives were crushed and pulped in similar stone mills with two or three wheels, then the pulp was put by hand in some kind of envelopes made of goats hair, and the envelopes were layered on the press where the juice was extracted. At later stages the press was replaced by hydraulic ones, the cisterns where the oil was settled was replaced by centrifugal separator, and the envelopes replaced by cannabis disks which were automatically layered and filled with the pulp between them. But the idea and the processing was still the same. Cold processing of the oil, which did not affect the taste or its quality.
Now, in modern facilities, they process the pulp with warm water, and the mix is automatically taken to the centrifugal separator, which has three outlets. One for the olive oil, the second for the water and other liquids and the third for the solid parts.
I will not post anything else for a couple of days, so more people can have access to this, and learn more about this Gods gift to Greece and the world.
have a great weekend all of you.
Costas

SquirrelQueen said...

It is good to see the old machinery being used. Maybe not the most effective way of doing things but interesting to see.

I love your header photo Costas, it is beautiful.

Nydia said...

What a great post, Costas! How different things were in the old times, and so simpler. Lucas loved following each photo (he's an olive lover and the whole process of extracting the oil fascinated him - and me too).

Kisses!

✿France✿ said...

Bonjour je découvre votre blog et je vais dire que j'en suis ravie. J'ai aussi des oliviers chez moi mais je ramasse mes olives et je fais ma préparation. C'est magnifique ces photos . Merci beaucoup.
Je ne trouve pas de traduction car je serai heureuse de pouvoir vous lire aussi. Merci

✿France✿ said...

Je vais donc revenir j'adore ce blog

Anonymous said...

Πραγματικά υπεροχη παραδοσιακη διαδικασια!

Σα χαζή κοιτούσα τις εικόνες!

Ευχαριστούμε πολύ Κωστή για τα ταξιδια αυτα που μας πας!

φιλιά πολλά

✿France✿ said...

Thank you very much it is very kind to be crossed(spent) on my blogs; MAID apres noon(south)

Costea Andrea Mihai said...

I am sure that the oil tastes great!! very natural way to make olive oil! thank you for this wonderful reportage!

Sandra said...

Bonjour je suis une amie de France
Vous avez de superbes photos bravo

Berit said...

This was a really interesting post Costas.
We use olive oil in different meals here.
I think we, living in the north has a lot to learn from you in southern Europe, conserning healthy food and vegetables.
Wishing you a nice weekend Costas.
Greetings from Berit.

Anonymous said...

Interesting photos and text, Costas. The old work and its history must not be forgotten, so it's good to see your documents ;-)
Have a great weekend!

webruci said...

Great posting Costas! You know here in Portugal, we have to the same way to make olive oil. of corse in some old vilages, and with this todays austerity looks like we need to go back in the past...

Have a great and blessed weekend:)

Sylvia K said...

What a fantastic post, Costas! It is wonderful to see the old equipment being used and such a great way to be able to see how things were done! I love your "engine"! Your posts are always a wonderful history lesson! Thank you! Have a wonderful weekend!

Sylvia

Anne said...

Oj oj oj, allwe also learn by blogging :-))) like it a lot, the text with the photos. Nice weekend.

Ree said...

I enjoyed this post and the pictures. And your header photo is gorgeous, absolutely lovely!

Betty Manousos said...

Seriously this a great info!
Your pictures are really speak themselves.
I'm impressed!
Have a lovely weekend!

Tash said...

It's magical. Such wonderful sequence. You have 100,000 worth of words in those photo. Such a treat to see it and I hope "the historian" is able to maintain this treasure for a long time.

Tash said...

PS - I like your new photo for your avatar. Looking good.

Virginia said...

Costas,
How interesting to see the entire process. Of couse I"ve shared how much I love the oil, the olives .......all of it!
Your new avatar is so nice as well.

Now I go and have a few bites of feta with some nice Greek olives! :)

Jilly said...

What a fascinating and beautiful post. In Monaco the original old stone mill wheels are displayed but nothing like this, showing the mill in operation. They knew how to do things in those days!

I adore your header, Costas.

Birdman said...

Interesting photos of the process... btw stunning banner.

Magia da Inês said...

Olá, amigo!
Interessante... eu não conhecia um lagar antigo para a extração do azeite...
Suas fotos ficaram ótimas!!!
Bom fim de semana!
Beijinhos.
Brasil

✿France✿ said...

Bonne soirée bye

Anonymous said...

very interesting, I never knew how it was made. I love your photos! It looks beautiful there.

Living In Williamsburg Virginia said...

This is why we order our olive oil from Greece! Wonderful series of shots.

Darryl and Ruth : )

Virginia said...

Only you would take the time to bring us every step of this laborious process Costas. Thank you. I love the olives from your country and will now try to buy your olive oil here as well.
V