Many local people keep looking for the original olive oil imported from the Levant countries which grow the finest types of olives in their lands. Olive oil has been a very important ingredient in the life of Omani people since ages due to its medical advantages. This prompted some ideas by Omani youths to start their own factories to produce this foremost product.
For thousands of years, olive oil has been used in cooking and is one of the most important substances in a healthy diet. The word “oil” comes from the Arabic “az-zait”, which refers to the juice of olives. It is mainly used in the Middle East and its use is known around the world. olive oil is used to prepare many dishes as it adds a delicious flavor. Olive oil differs from other vegetable oils due to its extraction and production methods. It also contains natural botanicals, the most significant of which are the antioxidants found in olive kernels, which are known for their health benefits. This oil is a central and distinguishing component of the Mediterranean diet, one of the healthiest diets around. Moreover, it’s a diet that was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2012. This article provides an overview of an Omani project dedicated to pressing olive oil locally.
Deyaa Ahmed Al Harrawy, the owner, says that he had the idea to meet consumers’ need for a high quality, pure olive oil pressed in Omani lands. He had this big dream that this factory will be the reference of the finest olive oil produced in the Sultanate of Oman that no one will question the quality of the product. The factory is a legal facility regulated by food control laws, allowing for a high level of hygiene and quality without preservatives or additives.
Founded in January 2021, the mill has its own trademark under the name "Jallan Binbuali Press for Extra Virgin Olive Oil”. Consumer’s confidence in the products sold in the market, as well as the quality of olives used to produce olive oil, are factors that helped keep the mill operating. The owner of Jallan Binbuali olive oil press assured that the olive kernels used to produce olive oil come from the finest and most luxurious farms of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which are the farms of the Jordanian Hashemite Royal Court. The agricultural crop on these farms is of high quality, purity, and cleanliness. In addition, the olives go through the stage of picking, cleaning, and packing in boxes designated for this purpose.
“They are shipped from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan through the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, then the UAE, and then reach the Sultanate of Oman.”, Said al Saadi, a co-founder, explained. There, the olives are checked through the border crossings, and they are again checked in logistics. He affirmed that they are happy about these procedures and legal steps that are taken to ensure the safety and validity of the product, in order to ensure the provision of a high-quality product to the consumer. The project is self-financed, and aims to recruit professional Omani youth, al Saadi said.
Explaining the process of extracting olive oil, al Saadi said, “The basic steps in making olive oil are always the same, no matter what kind of equipment is used, from The Olive Oil Source's First Press to very large commercial mills built to process many tons of olives per hour. The first step in the oil extraction process is cleaning the olives and removing the stems, leaves, twigs, and other debris left with the olives. The olives should be washed with water to remove pesticides, dirt, etc. Rocks and sand will damage a hammermill and quickly wear out a centrifugal decanter or oil separator, reducing life span from 25 to as little as 5 years.
The second step is crushing the olives into a paste. Malaxing the paste for 20 to 45 minutes allows small oil droplets to combine into bigger ones. It is an indispensible step. The paste can be heated or water added during this process to increase the yield, although this generally results in lowering the quality of the oil. The next step consists in separating the oil from the rest of the olive components. This used to be done with first press , but is now done by centrifugation, except in old facilities.
The marketing process is carried out by a team with more than 10 years of experience in the field of commercial marketing.
You can view the products in Instagram @Jallan_binbuali
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