A guided tour of the Mavroudis familys Museum and olive mill is all it takes to learn everything about the history and production of olive oil on Corfu.
On the southern side of Corfu in Vragkaniotika, we come across the Mavroudis family Olive Oil Museum. In a lush setting near the Korission Lagoon, the Museum of the Olive and Greek Olive Oil showcases the culture and technology behind the production of "liquid gold", a field inextricably linked with both Greek and Mediterranean identity.
The Mavroudis Family Story
The story began when the Mavroudis brothers founded their modern olive mill in 1992, being the first to apply the process of cold extraction. During the first extraction, the juice from fresh olives yields higher-quality olive oil that contains high levels of natural antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamin E, healthy fats and many other beneficial elements.
At the olive mill facilities to this day they process the familys olives harvested from their 2000 olive trees, which increase over the years and thrive in the southern region of Corfu, as well as olives from 800 other local families. The younger generations of the family are also actively involved in production, as well as in the Museum they have created on their premises.
To a large extent their olive groves consist of the local variety, the Corfiot Lianolia, with trees even over 700 years old. More recently, olive trees of the Koroneiki variety have also been planted, which produce olive oil with an intense green color, a fruity, grassy taste and a distinctive aroma, rich in valuable organoleptic compounds, vitamins and low acidity. The exceptional quality virgin olive oil is collected by hand for bottling and packaging. They have recently created a bottling plant and at the same time they also package their products, thus maintaining the high quality of the olive oil. In fact, their products often receive international awards.
The Mavroudis Olive Oil Museum
The Mavroudis family initiated us into the world of olive oil, with a tour of the museums modern facilities, which for them is a tribute to the tradition and cultural heritage of the olive. It is housed in a traditional stone building next to the olive mill and is an outstanding example of a small, pre-industrial, horse-powered olive mill, which preserves all the important authentic characteristics of Corfiot architecture and agriculture of the era. A member of the family is always available for guided tours of the museum facilities, explaining everything about the history and production of Corfiot olive oil.
They spoke to us about all the stages of olive oil production, from the steady horse-driven milling method to the clever pressing mechanism and the storage process, in which the design and construction of massive masonry plays an important role in regulating temperature.
To complete the experience, there is an olive oil tasting that clearly explains the key elements of the different properties of olive oil, so that visitors know the right way to taste it and what to look out for when buying olive oil. At the end we dipped traditional fresh Corfiot bread into the olive oil and visited the shop with the companys wide variety of products.
Information
Corfu Olive Oil Museum, Vragkaniotika, Corfu
Tel. +30 26610 76759
