About PETRA Olive Oil

Note: Challenging times for the EVOO industry - climate change is affecting olive trees worldwide, including Australia. Therefore there is currently a purchase limit on some Petra EVOO items. We are trying to ensure as many people as possible can enjoy Quality EVOO in these challenging times. Petra Extra Virgin Olive Oil only sells the freshest seasonal EVOO.

Current Season vs Any Season

Petra Extra Virgin Olive Oil only sells the freshest seasonal EVOO.
Olives are generally harvested and pressed from March/April to June/July.
New season EVOO is normally available around August each year.
Supermarket/commercial brands often sell stock that is years old.

Single Origin vs Multi Origin

Petra Extra Virgin Olive Oils are produced with first-harvest cold-pressed olives. Many commercial and supermarket brands use bulk, commercially sourced olives.
Note: due to increasing demand & climate change (oil shortage), Petra occasionally sources from other high quality Western Australian olive groves to blend with Petra Estate produced EVOO.

Small Batch Bottling vs Large Batch Bottling

Petra Extra Virgin Olive Oil is stored in vacuum sealed tanks and bottled in small quantities to preserve freshness, quality, flavour and high polyphenols year round.
Petra Estate starts bottling new season EVOO after the EVOO has had time to 'settle' in our stainless steel vacuum sealed tanks. New season EVOO is normally available around August each year, however even our previous season's EVOO is fresher that most others, as we only bottle in small batches.
Supermarket/commercial olive oils often bottle in very large quantities and sell 'old' / not first-pressed olive oil.

Optimal Ripeness vs Single Day Harvest

Petra Estate harvests and presses olives over a 2-3 month period (April to June). Petra Olives are harvested/selected for optimal ripeness (depending on variety/season).
Supermarket/commercial brands use olives harvested in just one day to reduce cost, but also reduce flavour & quality.

Hand Harvested vs Machine Harvested

Petra Extra Virgin Olive Oil is created with Petra Olives, harvested using hand-held rakes at the point of optimal ripeness for each olive variety.
Supermarket/commercial brands use heavy machinery to harvest their olives to reduce cost.

First Cold Pressed Single Extraction vs Commercial Multiple Extraction

Petra Extra Virgin Olive Oil is unadulterated first cold-pressed, single extraction EVOO.
Supermarket/commercial olive oils often use heat and/or chemical extraction and multiple extraction processes.
Real 'Extra Virgin First Cold Pressed EVOO' offers the highest quality in terms of freshness, flavour and polyphenol health benefits.

Petra Pressing vs Stored Olive Pressing

Petra olives are pressed within 24 hours of harvesting. Petra EVOO is then stored in stainless steel vacuum tanks and bottled in small batches to ensure quality, freshness, taste and preservation of polyphenols.
Supermarket/commercial brands are often derived from 'old' olives that have been 'stored' for longer periods of time, losing freshness and quality.

Blending Expertise

Petra Extra Virgin Olive Oils are expertly created from extra virgin olive oil produced with first-harvest cold-pressed olives. Each annual season will result in different flavours/characteristics.

Cloudy vs Clear EVOO

Petra Extra Virgin Olive Oil is unadulterated first cold-pressed, single extraction EVOO. We never use heat, chemicals or filtering during the pressing process. This ensures the highest quality EVOO flavour and polyphenols (antioxidant) health benefits.
Petra EVOO may continue to 'settle' and 'clarify' after bottling which may result in some olive sediment falling to the bottom. Olive sediment is completely harmless, however if you consider it 'unsightly', you may not wish to use the very last drops, and it is best not to shake bottle/tin.
Supermarket/commercial brands are often 'treated' differently for commercial reasons, resulting in considerably reduced quality, flavour and polyphenols.

High Polyphenols vs Low Polphenols

Petra Extra Virgin Olive Oil has consistently recorded some of the highest polyphenols of any Australian-produced EVOO. Why do polphenols matter? More about healthy Polyphenols and please view our VIDEO!

Local Infusions vs Commercial Infusions

Petra Infused/Flavoured Olive Oils are created with the freshest, locally sourced lemon, lime, herbs, garlic, chilli to ensure quality and freshness.
Supermarket/commercial brands often use 'flavourings' from a range of sources, including 'artificial flavouring'.

Cooking, Baking or Drizzling

Click here for more information about Cooking with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Does EVOO require refrigeration?

EVOO does not 'require' refrigeration. To preserve quality and freshness, we recommend storing in a cool/dark place. If you don't tend to use EVOO often, we suggest refrigeration to help preserve the oil. Note: EVOO tends to 'solidify' somewhat when refrigerated, but if you bring EVOO to room temperature (before use) it will de-solidify.