The legacy of our mill
After generations dedicated to agriculture and many years farming the olive trees in our estate, the Velasco-Gil family founded in 2009 an olive oil mill in Dilar, a small town in Sierra Nevada (Granada).
After generations dedicated to agriculture and many years farming the olive trees in our estate, the Velasco-Gil family founded in 2009 an olive oil mill in Dilar, a small town in Sierra Nevada (Granada).
This is our
Quaryat extra virgin oils are an exceptionally natural product. Moreover, we make it our priority to reduce our environmental footprint and to protect our surroundings by consciously controlling every step throughout the production cycle.
There are four steps to making our delicious Quaryat oils, each one subject to stringent quality control systems. In just under two hours, the process is completed, thus avoiding the loss of any qualities during the different steps.
One advantage of working with fruit from our own estate is our ability to select the finest fruit from every variety. It all happens very near our facilities: the fruit is caught as it is felled and before it touches the ground. This guarantees a fresh and residue free raw material.
The selected fruit is then malaxed for 30 min to extract the very best juice. This step is crucial and any heat must be avoided to preserve the quality, taste, smell, texture and aroma of the oil.
Through a mechanical decanting process, the oil is then separated from any vegetable water and solids before being stored in stainless steel tanks. The air is at that point taken out to avoid oxidation and the tank kept in a state of the art cellar at a constant temperature and in ideal conditions.
Besides selecting the fruit, controlling the processes and storing the oil, the on-site laboratory at Quaryat certifies the successful completion of the cycle. We only bottle our oils when an order is placed so the final customer can enjoy oil as we do in a first day of harvest. The circle wouldn’t be complete without the adequate disposal of byproducts and waste. We turn these into biomass, fertilizers and electricity: a way of giving something back to nature.
The fruit of the Sierra Nevada olive trees is a delicacy in itself, grown in a natural environment with unique characteristics. Converting this fruit into an extra virgin olive oil of the same quality requires experience and special resources. At the Quaryat Dillar oil mill we have this knowledge and tools to make an olive juice from natural processes, attending to tradition and introducing innovation from the respect of the oil culture.
Caring for the natural environment and constant study to improve our oil are two principles of our work. The processes of recycling and regeneration of by-products (biomass boiler, solar panels, Led lights) allow us to return to nature what it gives us.
