How Flavored Olive Oil Is Made? The Natural Way at OLYFO

Have you ever tasted a lemon olive oil that reminded you more of lemon candy than fresh citrus? Or a basil oil that left an oily, artificial film on your palate?

That unfortunate experience is the hallmark of industrial “infusion”—where chemical extracts are simply stirred into refined oil after it has already been processed. At OLYFO, we believe the best flavor doesn’t come from a laboratory; it comes from the earth itself. We produce our flavored oils using the ancient, premium method known as agrumato (or co-milling), a technique that marries fresh Tunisian ingredients with our hand-picked olives at the very moment of extraction. This isn’t just “flavoring” an oil; it is creating a completely new culinary fusion that captures the raw, vibrant soul of the Mediterranean.

The Secret is in the Crush: The Science of Co-Milling

The most exceptional flavor isn’t added—it’s born. OLYFO uses the rare “agrumato” method (also known as co-milling), which turns olive oil production into a culinary fusion event. Instead of processing olives alone, we toss whole, fresh ingredients—like organic lemons, vibrant basil, or spicy peppers—directly into the mill alongside the fruit before the crush begins.​

This is crucial because citrus peels and fresh herbs contain volatile essential oils that are incredibly fragile. By grinding them simultaneously with the olives, the fresh essential oils are released at the exact same moment as the olive oil, allowing them to bind together on a molecular level instantly. This “simultaneous extraction” captures the raw, living essence of the ingredient, resulting in a flavor profile that is three-dimensional, bright, and impossible to replicate with post-production additives.​

Fused vs. Infused: Why “Ready-to-Sell” Means Superior Quality

The difference between “fused” (agrumato) and “infused” oil is the difference between fresh juice and flavored syrup.

• Infused (The Standard Way): Most commercial producers take an already-processed base oil (often of lower quality) and steep it with dried herbs or chemical extracts. This often requires filtering out solids later, which strips away flavor and nutrients, or results in a flat, separated taste.​
• Fused (The OLYFO Way): Our co-milled method produces an oil that is “ready to sell” immediately after extraction. Because no heat or chemicals are used, this cold-pressing technique preserves the natural antioxidants and polyphenols of both the olives and the fresh ingredients.​

Adding herbs like thyme or rosemary to the olive paste before mixing significantly increases the oil’s polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity. The water in the olive paste acts as a natural solvent, helping to pull more beneficial organic acids from the fresh ingredients into the oil, giving you a bottle that is as nutritious as it is delicious.​

Optimal Freshness: The “Tree-to-Mill” Standard

For OLYFO’s co-milled oils, “fresh” isn’t just a marketing buzzword—it is a strict technical requirement. Because we extract flavor simultaneously with the oil, the quality of the added ingredients must match the premium standard of the olives themselves.

• The “Simultaneous Harvest” Rule: We cannot use cold-storage lemons from last month. The citrus and herbs must be harvested at the exact same time as the olives—typically within 24 to 48 hours of milling. Using day-fresh ingredients ensures we capture the volatile essential oils before they evaporate.​
• Whole Fruit Magic: Unlike home infusions that often use only peels to avoid bitterness, we toss whole organic lemons—skin, pulp, and juice—into the crusher. The mechanical power of our centrifuges allows us to separate the oil effectively from the fruit’s water and bitter pith immediately after crushing. This captures the bright, sharp organic acids from the fruit’s flesh, creating a complex, zesty profile that zest alone could never provide.​
• The Golden Ratio: Our millers must calculate the exact percentage of fruit-to-olive (a closely guarded recipe!) to ensure the paste doesn’t become too wet, preserving the stability and “Cold Pressed” status of your oil.

A Tribute to Tunisian Terroir

Choosing the natural way is also our tribute to the richness of the Tunisian land. Just as our Northern Chétoui and Southern Chemlali olives are expressions of our unique soil and sun, our flavored oils rely entirely on the quality of local harvest. We don’t rely on shelf-stable extracts; if the lemons aren’t ripe or the herbs aren’t fresh, we simply cannot make the oil. This seasonal dependence ensures that every bottle of OLYFO flavored oil is a limited-edition capture of a specific moment in the Tunisian harvest season, bringing you a vibrant, authentic taste of North Africa that honors 2,500 years of agricultural tradition.