According to experts, an olive oil shortage is on the horizon, so if you can't live without it, you'll have to learn to make your own. Although traditionally made with an oil press, you can produce your own using simple kitchen equipment and appliances that you may already have.
While it's a time-consuming process compared to simply grabbing a bottle from the store, many people enjoy making their own.
First of all, you should gather everything you'll need to make your olive oil. You don't need a huge number of items, but each of them is vital.
Once you've got everything you need, wash your olives thoroughly, and let them sit in a colander for a few minutes to dry. They don't need to be completely dry, just not sopping wet. Next, use the mallet or meat tenderizer to crush your olives to a rough paste. If your olives aren't pitted, make sure to crush the pits well, or pick larger chunks out before moving on to the next step.
You need to turn your rough olive paste into a fine paste, using a blender to do so. Add 1 to 3 tablespoons of water to your olives, and blend for five to 15 minutes, depending on how powerful your blender is. Once you notice beads of oil forming on the olive paste or a dark sheen over the top, it's ready. You can use either an immersion blender or a countertop blender, but using a countertop blender will save you arm ache. Set the mixture aside for five to 10 minutes before you move on, and you should see more beads of oil forming.
Put the fine mesh strainer over a bowl, and line the inside of the strainer with cheesecloth. Tip your olive mixture into the lined strainer, and fold the edges of the cheesecloth over the paste to form a parcel. Put something heavy on top, such as a bowl filled with dried rice or beans. Leave it for 30 to 60 minutes, pressing down on it every five to 10 minutes to aid the extraction.
Once the liquid has been extracted, transfer it to a large glass or another tall, clear container, and let it sit for two to three hours. During this time, the liquid will naturally separate so the water and olive juice sink to the bottom of the container and the oil floats on top of it.
Use a baster or food-safe syringe to pull the oil off the top of the container, leaving the watery layer behind. Transfer it to a dark glass bottle with a lid or stopper, and store it in a cool, dark place.
This heavy meat tenderizer is the perfect tool for crushing olives to a rough paste before you blend them.
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With a powerful 1,500-watt motor, this blender will make light work of milling your crushed olives to a fine paste.
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Cuisinart Set of Fine Mesh Strainers
These fine mesh strainers come in a set of three, each of a different size, so you can choose according to the number of olives you're using.
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Perfect for straining the liquid from your olive paste, this fine cheesecloth can be used again and again because it is washable.
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Once your oil has separated from the rest of the liquid, you can use this baster to suck it up and transfer it to a bottle.
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Cornucopia Amber Glass Bottles
Store your olive oil in a dark glass bottle like one of these to minimize sunlight exposure, which causes olive oil to spoil more quickly and can degrade its nutritional properties.
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Lauren Corona writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
