How is oil extracted from olives and palm fruits?

Oil is extracted from fleshy fruits like olives and palm fruits primarily through a process known as rendering. Because these fruits contain large quantities of easily released fatty matter, they do not require the intensive mechanical grinding or solvent extraction typically used for oilseeds and nuts.12

The methods for extracting oil from these fruits include:

• Primitive Rendering: In its most basic form, fruits such as olives are heaped in piles and exposed to the sun, allowing the oil to exude naturally, which is then collected.12
• Boiling and Skimming: A more advanced and common practice for palm oil involves boiling the fresh fruits in water. Once the oil is released, it is skimmed from the surface of the water.12

These rendering techniques are distinct from the mechanical pressing or solvent extraction methods required for materials where oil is held more tightly within cellular structures.13