Taking Olives to the Press in Central Portugal
Harvest week isn't finished when the nets come up, because the next clock is the press, and fruit that waits too long turns into tired, fusty oil. Our century-old Galega trees on the Quinta in Central Portugal were planted by the parents of the previous owner, so we inherited the harvest along with the land, and over the years the part that has taught us the most is not the picking but the trip to the press. Presses here commonly won't run a small grower's olives as a separate batch below about 400 kg (880 lb), which is far more than a few trees usually give, so when we take olives to press we always go together with friends.
This guide works for any olives, with our Galega as the example, and covers pooling, booking and paying, timing, and what real homestead oil yields look like. This post mixes what we have seen on the Quinta with general practice for small growers and village presses.
There is a troubleshooting and FAQ section at the end, and more reading sits on our Resources page.
Why Small Groves Rarely Press Alone
Presses that mill your own olives as a separate batch usually set a minimum weight, and around here that line typically sits at about 400 kg (880 lb). Below it, a common approach is for the press to add your fruit to a shared batch with other growers' olives and give you back oil based on the weight you brought, which is simple but means your oil is no longer only from your trees.
The other way, and the one we always use, is to pool with friends so that together you reach the minimum, and in our case that usually comes out at exactly 400 kg. We split the oil from the pooled batch by the ratio of the kilos each of us brought, so everyone knows their share before the crush even starts.
Tough Tip: Weigh your crates at home if you can, so you know your share of the pooled batch before you arrive at the press.
What the Press Will and Won't Accept
Rigid, perforated crates are the safe choice because they protect the fruit and let air move through it, while plastic bags trap heat and moisture and start fermentation fast. A friend learned that rule the hard way the year we joined him at the press he uses in Valverde del Fresno, just across the border in Spain, and his olives, filled into plastic bags that morning, were refused.
Rules differ from press to press, and so far we have used a different press every year, so it pays to ask each time whether they want leaves and twigs removed and how long the fruit may wait after picking. We use our neighbor's 10 by 10 m (33 by 33 ft) nets, everything that lands on them goes to the press, and we sort out the bigger leaves and twigs right there on the net. The few olives that fell before the nets went down are barely worth mentioning, and we leave them where they are.
Tough Tip: Leave the plastic bags at home entirely, even for the last few kilos, because one refused bag can hold up the whole pooled batch.
Book the Press Before You Pick
Presses get busy once the harvest is in full swing, so book your slot first and plan the picking around it rather than the other way around. We usually book by phone. We pay by the kilo, and a friend told us that one press near us charges 17 cents per kg, plus the container the oil goes into. That container is usually a 5 liter canister, though 2 liter ones are often available too, so ask what sizes they have when you call.
Tough Tip: Ask about the minimum batch, the price per kilo and the containers in the same call as the booking, so nothing surprises you on press day.
From Net to Crush Without Delay
Olives start to lose quality once they leave the tree, so the general aim is to get them crushed quickly. Because we only have a few trees, we aim to pick the day before our appointment. After the harvest we keep the olives spread out on the nets so air reaches them, and we fill the crates just before we drive to the press. A friend with a bigger harvest picks eight days in a row and keeps the olives spread out on the net overnight, and that works out well for them, so a good airy spread matters as much as the clock.
Cold Press and What It Means Here
As far as we know, the presses we use all do a cold press, which in practice means the olive paste is kept cool while it is mixed and the oil is separated without heat. Cold processing is generally associated with fresher flavor and better keeping quality, while warmer processing can squeeze out a little more oil at the cost of some of that freshness. If the method matters to you, simply ask the press how they run their line.
What Real Homestead Yields Look Like
Oil yield is never a fixed number. It can take as little as about 6 kg (13 lb) of olives to make one liter of oil, or as much as 13 to 14 kg (29 to 31 lb), depending on the season, the harvest timing and how the weather was that year. Our first harvest for oil, on November 10, 2024, was one stubborn afternoon with nets that brought in about 160 kg (350 lb) from just two trees, and at the press in Spain that haul gave 15 to 16 liters (about 4 gallons) of golden-green oil.
Last year was thin, and we harvested only about 80 kg (175 lb), yet our share of the pooled batch still came to about 13 liters (about 3.5 gallons). So far we have always come home with around 13 to 16 liters for ourselves. This year we harvested a little over 100 kg (220 lb), and we don't know yet how much oil it will give.
How We Do It with Friends
Press day is the end of a harvest that already runs on shared effort, since the nets we use belong to a neighbor whose trees we look after, and the batch itself only exists because several households bring their olives together. The oil that comes back ends up in our kitchen, on our skin and in homemade soap, which is a good reason to keep every step between net and press as short as possible.
Herman's Tough Kraut Fixes: Common Challenges When Taking Olives to the Press
Most press-day problems come down to too little fruit, the wrong containers or a booking made too late, so this short troubleshooting and FAQ section covers the questions that come up most often when taking olives to the press.
Q: What if I don't have enough olives for a separate batch?
A: Pool with friends or neighbors so that together you reach the minimum, and split the oil by the kilos each person brought.
Q: Can I bring my olives to the press in plastic bags?
A: It is better not to, because bags trap heat and moisture, and some presses refuse olives that arrive in them, as a friend of ours found out at a press in Spain.
Q: How do I pay, and what do I bring the oil home in?
A: The presses we have used charge by the kilo, plus the container, usually a 5 liter canister, with 2 liter ones often available too.
Q: How much oil will I get from my olives?
A: Anywhere from about one liter per 6 kg of olives to one liter per 13 to 14 kg, depending on the season, the harvest timing and the weather.
Final Thoughts on Taking Olives to the Press
When you take olives to press, the work that matters most happens before you arrive: pooling with friends to reach the minimum batch, booking by phone early, keeping the fruit airy on the nets, and leaving the plastic bags at home.
Part 1 of this series covers when to harvest Galega olives for oil, and Part 2 walks through how to harvest olives with nets and poles, so together the three posts follow the olives from the branch to the bottle.
Read more in our Galega olive profile, and join the Kraut Crew to follow this year's harvest on the Quinta.
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