The traditional oil mills
The olive oil
The use of olive oil on Naxos has been documented since the Cycladic period in the Early Bronze age; not only have vessels been found that are thought to be oil lamps, but also vessels with oil residues. Initially, the oil was used as lamp oil and for personal hygiene, but it was only later that its importance as a foodstuff was recognised. Today, olive oil is an integral part of Greek cuisine and there is no traditional dish that does not contain olive oil.
vase from the 3rd millennium BC (Cycladic culture) with oil residue inside (from Spedó in southern Naxos); from the Facebook page “Oreinos Axotis”
The cultivation of olive trees in general did not require much labour – the trees are undemanding and need little soil and no watering. Accordingly, olive trees abound on Naxos and all families used to make their own oil. Harvesting was a very laborious and time-consuming task that kept the villagers busy for several weeks in late autumn – if the harvest was good. After the harvest, the oil was pressed. There were oil mills in all the villages, each owned and operated by several families. The pressing was difficult and strenuous work. Today, in many villages one of the traditional oil mills has been restored and can be visited.
in many villages a restoren traditional oil mill can be visited. Here the oil mill in Keramotí.
The process of the extraction of the oil in traditional oil mills
The olives were ground in hand-operated oil mills, the fábrikes. The oil mills were set up in small buildings that housed all the necessary equipment. Once all the olives had been gathered, the oil presses were put into operation. They then worked every day and often even at night so that the olives did not have to be kept for long. Early in the morning, the kapetánios called to work with the bouroú, the large sea snail.
If you click on the picture, you can hear the tooting on the Triton’s trumpet!
In the first step, the olives were crushed to a pulp in the mill. This was done using the kýlindros, a large, horizontal, slightly conical cylinder made of granite or marble, which was rolled in a circle around an upright trunk on a large marble slab with a rim a few centimetres high, using a wooden beam inserted horizontally through it as an axis. The olives were poured onto the marble slab and crushed to a pulp by the kýlindros. Four strong men turned the kýlindros, two at each end of the horizontal log, one pushing the beam and the other pulling it by a loop of rope. Another worker, always an elderly man, walked in front of the kýlindros and used a spatula to push the olive pulp back into the centre of the stone slab. In this way, one load of olives was ground in about half an hour.
Then another worker put the olive pulp onto special felt mats made of goat hair, the tsourápes, which were closed and folded up like an envelope. About twenty of these tsourápes were stacked onto the mángano, the press, for one pressing cycle. The presses were made of cast iron and were manufactured in factories, for example in Piraeus. They consisted of a metal plate attached to rods in the four corners that could be lowered with a large steel screw in the centre. The press stood on a stone slab with a spout through which the oil ran into a trough below, from which it was scooped out by another worker.
The olive pulp was placed in these tsourápes, mats made from goat’s hair, for the pressing.
The tsourápes were stacked on the press. The upper metal plate was then lowered using the wooden beam pressing it onto the tsourápes to squeeze out the oil.
The press was manufactured in Piraeus.
The decisive factor in oil extraction was thorough pressing. Strength was the key here! The screw that lowered the metal plate of the press was first tightened using the wooden beam hooked onto it. For further pressing there was an auxiliary device, the ergátis, a winch made of a vertical beam with horizontal branches that were used for turning. When turning, a rope or chain was wound onto the ergátis, which was attached to the beam hooked onto the press, so that the press could be tightened another quarter turn at a time. The bar hooked onto the press was then moved and tightened again.
The ergátis, which was used to tighten the press, can be seen on the left.
As soon as the tsourápes were stacked onto the press, the oil began to seep out. This first oil, which flowed out on its own, was of the best quality and was particularly valued. During the pressing process, the tsourápes were doused with boiling water to extract as much oil as possible. The water was heated in a large cauldron. An assistant heated it with the pyrínas, the mass left over after pressing, which mainly consisted of the olive pits but still contained a lot of oil. The remaining pyrínas was given to the pigs as a particularly nourishing food or was used as fuel in the households. The trough into which the oil ran from the mángano had two separate basins with an overflow between them, so that the heavier water remained in the first basin, where it was drained from time to time, while the lighter oil flowed into the second basin. The oil was carefully collected with an earthenware jug and then with a cut-open, flat gourd.
And then you can enjoy the freshly pressed, delicious oil!
Olive oil constitutes an indispensable part of the diet of the peoples of the Mediterranean region and in Greece is never missing from any meal. However, olive oil also has other uses in Greece, for example as lamp oil (in a religious context). Many people light an oil lamp every evening in churches and chapels, but also in their home altar. What comfort gives that little light shining out of the window into the dark night!
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