OLIVE GROWERS. OIL MAKERS.

Established in 1999, we are an olive grove and olive oil making facility at Fish Creek, South Gippsland. We specialize in producing the highest quality varietal Extra Virgin Olive Oils from our estate-grown olives. As we receive an abundant annual rainfall in our Southern Gippsland region, our trees are not irrigated, allowing the olive fruit to gain the best possible oil quality and flavour characteristics. Our trees are naturally grown in our groves without the use of herbicides or harmful pesticides.

We manage the trees, pick and process the fruit and store and bottle the oil on-site with attention to sustainability and quality management. We chip the pruned olive tree branches and the mulch is used under the younger olive trees, on the vegetable garden and in the fruit and nut tree orchard. We transport the pomace waste to spread on the farm. We focus on recycling to make the best use of resources and minimise waste.

Seven varieties of oil-producing olive trees have been planted, spread over three groves: 

  • Baker Grove has Italian Leccino and Frantoio trees with Pendolino for cross-pollination.

  • Picual Paddock primarily consists of Spanish Picual and Arbequina trees with a spattering of Leccino and Frantoio.

  • Stephanie Grove has Italian Coratina, Greek Koroneiki and Arbequina andPicual olive varieties. 

Trees are selectively netted to minimise loss of fruit to birds and the fruit is hand picked from mid-May through to mid-July and cold-processed on-site within 24 hours of picking.

This year, we offer four varietal estate-grown extra virgin olive oils and a blend of three varieties, each with a free fatty acid level less than .3%, these are: Frantoio, Coratina, Koroneiki, and Arbequina (Spain). The five oils each have their own aroma and flavour characteristics in fruit, bitterness and pepperiness and present clean palate-fresh flavours representing the best qualities of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. 

Love, Sweat & Passion

A year of farming activities at Golden Creek Olives has been included in a beautiful book called "Love, Sweat and Passion". The book is a celebration of South Gippsland's incredible food, wine and landscapes; encapsulating the seasonal stories in text and photos of seven passionate farming businesses. Uri Fogel, Jenny O'Sullivan and Jillian Staton have produced a beautiful book in which the story of Golden Creek Olives has been included,

 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • Extra virgin olive oil has an absolutely perfect taste; the acidity cannot be more than 0.8gram per 100 gram and a score from a Panel Test cannot be less than 6.5.

  • Pure olive oil is oil obtained mixing refined oil with a virgin olive oil; it must have an acidity less than 1.5%.

  • The best olive oil is the extra virgin olive oil.

  • According to many researchers, extra virgin olive oil, amongst all the oils, is the most precious for our health. It protects heart and arteries, slows down cerebral aging, prevents arteriosclerosis, reduces the level of bad (LDL) cholesterol and increases the level of good (HDL) cholesterol; it is also attributed to preventing the development of tumors and cellular deterioration.

  • The cold extraction is the most appropriate for the quality of the oil. This method retains the proper aroma and the oil is more stable, avoiding oxidation and consequently loss of antioxidants.

  • Olive oil has a fatty acid composition similar to the one in maternal milk, and it is recommended for children when weaning.

  • Olive oil is good for you in old age because it promotes the assimilation of calcium preventing osteoporosis.

  • The most important factors are: the cultivars, agronomic practices, the soil and climate, the harvest timing and way of harvesting, the processing of olives, the handling and storing of oil.

  • To have a good extra virgin olive oil, the olives must be harvested at the right maturation, by hand, kept in aerated containers, and sent within 24-48 hours to be processed. Olives for processing should never be stored in bags.

  • Within 12-15 months. After this period of time the oil loses its colour, flavour, aroma, etc.

  • The best container is of stainless steel. Very good are the glass containers also, if they are non transparent to light. The shape must be narrower at the bottom and at the top of the container; to reduce the area of contact with eventual residues and with air. Plastic containers are suitable for short time storage only.

  • DOP oil (Denomination of Origin Protected) has been recognized by the European Community as quality oil from a DOP area. The manufacturers of oil in a region (area) awarded as DOP must follow a strict discipline in processing the olives; their groves must be listed in official records and they have to declare the production to the Chamber of Commerce.

  • It is one of the best oils for frying. It can stand high temperatures without burning.

  • The specific weight of oil at 15 C is 915 - 919 kg per cubic metre. One litre of oil has a weight of

    915 - 919 grams.

  • It depends on the vegetable. Lettuce prefers a delicate oil; rocket or radicchio prefer a stronger fruity and spicy, bitter oil.

  • Olive oil is a vegetable fat, made mostly of unsaturated fatty acids. The most important of them is the oleic acid (monounsaturated).

  • Vegetable fats, like olive oil are made of unsaturated fatty acids. Fats of animal origin like butter, etc. , are made of saturated fatty acids. There are many other differences in flavour, taste, aroma, etc.

  • An organic olive oil is obtained from olives cultivated without using chemicals in pesticides, herbicides or in fertilizers, but applying only natural products.

  • On average lOOkg of olives should produce between 10 and 25 litres of oil.

  • The factors are many. The cultivars, the agronomic practices, the soil and the climate, timing and way of harvest, and the method of processing all affect the yield.

  • With the traditional processing, heavy stone wheels crush the olives and the oil is extracted by pressing the paste.

  • With continuous processing, hammer mills crush the olives, the crushed olives are mixed and then the oil is extracted by centrifuge. The olives are fed continuously to the machine and the oil is collected from the other side of the machine with a huge saving in processing time and in manpower.

  • The byproducts of olive oil making are pomace and vegetative water.

  • Pomace is the solid residue of olives paste processing. More oil can be extracted from the pomace using a solvent.

  • Lampante oil is an oil with bad chemical and taste characteristic. The term lampante comes from the use of oil in lamps common before the coming of electricity.

  • The most common olive tree varieties in Australia are:

    Manzanillo, Correggiola, Frantoio, Barnea, Verdale, Mission, Queen Of Spain, Picual, Nevadillo Blanco, Leccino, Pendolino.

  • The most important analysis are: free fatty acid acidity, peroxide number, organolectic analysis.

  • It is very important. When the olives are harvested before the ideal maturation the oil has a fruity, spicy, bitter taste and green colour. The oil from over mature olives has a more golden colour and sweeter taste.

  • The good extra virgin olive oil are naturally cloudy and they become clear after 2-4 months leaving a residue in the bottom of the container that can spoil the flavour of the oil.