| Olive Oil Production |
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More than 4000 trees grow at Moshav Givat Yoav in the southern Golan Heights. Every cultivar (variety) is tended in a specialized way and harvested in its own time. The orchards cover an area of 60 acres all within 1.5 miles from the olive press. This insures that the olives are processed without delay (in less than 24 hours) after the harvest. Prompt pressing prevents oxidation that severely degrades the quality of the oil.  The olives are processed in accordance with traditions passed down from generation to generation of olive oil artisans. The olives are cleaned of leaves and any other foreign substances then ground and mixed with warm water to form a thick paste. This paste is agitated for about 40 minutes as the oil begins to separate from the olive. The oil is extracted using only mechanical means without any chemical substances (cold pressed) reaching a temperature of only 24ºC (75.2º F), a full 11ºC (20º F) cooler than international limits. Although this process extracts less oil from every olive, it nevertheless insures the quality of taste and aroma and allows the oil to be stored successfully. Sunlight, another cause of oxidation, is prevented from reaching the oil at every step, from extraction to bottling.  After extraction, the olive oil is allowed to “rest” and decant for at least 4 months in food grade stainless steel tanks before final filtration and bottling. The entire production at the Toister Ranch meets the criteria for certification by the Israeli Standards Organization. 
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