70 STATE BOARD OF HORTICULTURE. 



OLIVE OIL FILTERING OR CLARIFYING* 



"This is a simple process. The most common method is to 

 have a series of five or six boxes, one above the other, each with 

 cotton batting in the bottom. The oil passing the sixth will be 

 beautifulfy clear and ready for market. I use cylindrical tin 

 vessels holding about three gallons each, one fitting in the other, 

 in tiers of three, with fine wire sieves in the bottom of each. On 

 these sieves I place two or three layers of cotton batting. The 

 oil is passed from one tier to the other until clear. The clarify- 

 ing can be done by sunlight; also, the oil can be bleached and 

 made much lighter in color, but not without injuring it. When 

 it is adulterated, artificial heat is necessary in the process. 

 When once heated it loses a part of the nutty flavor, and is 

 liable to become rancid when exposed to the air. It should.be 

 kept in an ordinarily cool place, not exposed to sunlight or 

 heat; neither should it be handled any more than is absolutely 

 necessary in the filtering and bottling, and should not be 

 shaken after bottling. The mucilage contained in the oil will 

 not separate for a long time after the oil is ready for use, and 

 as it does not injure it, is not therefore objectionable. It will 

 sometimes form in the bottles like globules of water, or in 

 films, settling to the bottom as sediment, and when shaken 

 will give the oil a muddy appearance, which, with the common 

 prejudice against all table oils that are not perfectly clear, 

 renders it unsalable, as consumers consult more the eye than 

 the taste. The oil is better when new and fresh, and what is 

 gained in appearance by its remaining a longer time in the 

 tank is more than lost in its freshness and delicacy of flavor.'' 



*Hon. Ellwood Cooper, of Santa Barbara. 



