Portugal · Food & Beverage Craft; Agricultural craft; Portuguese heritage
Azeite Alentejano — Lagar de Vara
The cold-pressing of olive oil in the Alentejo — the dominant Portuguese olive oil producing region, with the traditional lagar de vara (beam press) surviving in a small number of heritage mills as the historic pressing technique, succeeded commercially by modern centrifuge presses. The traditional Alentejo lagar uses a massive horizontal wooden beam (vara) loaded with stones to press the olive paste in a slow, cold extraction that Alentejo oilers maintain produces a qualitatively distinct oil from centrifuge extraction. The lagar operator reads the correct paste consistency before pressing using a palm-temperature test comparable in principle to the Mallorcan granite mill test (CRAFT-1099) but adapted to the Alentejo's specific indigenous olive varieties.
Risk level: Stable · Not listed; multiple DOP designations covering Alentejo olive oil
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