Olive Amelia 101: November 2024
The Difference Between Fused, Infused & Agrumato Oils
Fused olive oil, infused olive oil, and the agrumato process are all methods used to blend natural flavors into olive oil, but they differ in terms of the techniques and ingredients involved.
Fused olive oil is created by crushing ripe fruits or vegetables together with olives during the olive oil extraction process. The olives and the additional ingredient are pressed simultaneously, allowing their flavors to blend and infuse into the oil. For example, fused olive oil may be made by crushing fresh lemons with olives, resulting in a vibrant lemon-infused olive oil. Fused oils tend to have a more robust and intense flavor profile since the additional ingredient is incorporated from the beginning of the extraction process.
On the other hand, infused olive oil involves adding pure, natural flavors to already extracted olive oil. This is typically done by immersing herbs, spices, or other ingredients into the oil and allowing them to steep for a period of time. The oil absorbs the flavors, creating a distinct taste. Infused olive oils are often made in small batches and can offer a wide range of flavors depending on the chosen ingredients. Some popular infused oils include garlic-infused olive oil and rosemary-infused olive oil.
Lastly, the Agrumato process is a very specialized technique that may best be described by our distributor Veronica Foods:
"From the time we began making agrumato olive oil (aka "fused" olive oil) decades ago, we needed a word that best described our mill's process of crushing whole, fresh, organic olives together with perfectly ripe, fresh produce, strictly using cold mechanical extraction. We chose to use the word "fused" because the only other word that existed to describe this unique, artisan process was the Italian term, "agrumato". At the time, we felt the term "agrumato" was too obscure, so we chose to call our agrumato olive oil "fused". The term "fused" used to describe this process was essentially invented or coined by Veronica foods decades ago.
We believe that the term "fused" has been co-opted by other companies for a few reasons. First and foremost, the process of making agrumato is incredibly difficult, costly, and therefore incredibly rare. It's time consuming, laborious, and requires a near perfect choreography between farmers to bring fresh, ripe, locally sourced produce to the mill the moment the olives are ready to be harvested. We are talking mere hours from harvest to crush for both olives and fresh produce at our mill.
Furthermore, a recipe must be developed dictating how many tons of fresh herbs, fruit, or vegetables should be crushed with a specific ratio of olives. This process of formulation can take many seasons to perfect. We had many failures along the way before we got each agrumato olive oil right. Remember, a mill cannot simply stop production to make tiny test batches of agrumato to find flavor harmony. Our mill has an Alfa Laval in full swing during the fall/winter harvest, and fresh olives need to be crushed immediately!
The process of agrumato is a labor of love which requires a level of craftsmanship and dedication to quality that we hang our hats on. We're known globally for having one of the largest collections of authentic, high quality agrumato olive oil.
We did not roll out of bed a couple years ago and decide to call ourselves experts. We arrived at our position in the industry after decades of hands-on experience. With that said, we're never done reaching for excellence, but we have put in the time fine tuning the process, accruing many accolades and gold medals along the way."
Each method, fused, infused and Argumato, provides a unique way to add natural flavors to olive oil, allowing for a diverse and enjoyable culinary experience. Please feel free to stop into the store and sample any of our oils or balsamic vinegars, you will be glad you did!