Harvesting & production of argan oil

 The argan tree belongs to the oldest trees on earth. Accurate data aren’t know, various literature mean an age of 25 to 80 million years - an almost unimaginable time span for us humans.Due to its extremely hard wood, the Moroccan tree belongs to the family of the Sapotacea, also called the "ironwood tree".

The harvest of the fruits

The harvest takes place in the months July to September. Due to the large number of thorns, harvesting by hand is impossible. So-called "shaking machines" can’t be used, since this would result a falling off of the dry branches, as well as in the existing flowers of the Argan tree.

So the Berbers remain only to wait and drink mint tea until the ripe fruit falls on the ground, then pick it up and dry and store it on the roofs of the mud huts in the fresh air.

A great advantage of this method is that argan fruits can be stored over a long period of time and are available whenever necessary for the production of argan oil.

 

The 2 different methods of Argan Oil’s manufacturing

Two different methods are used for the production of Argan oil, which we would like to explain in more detail below:

 

1. The Traditional hand pressing:

Traditional hand pressing is carried out mainly by women of the region. In the first step, the pericarp, which is otherwise inedible to man, is removed from the light brown Argan nut. The pulp is stored and later used as an animal feed. Afterwards the contained cores (also called almonds) are freed shell with stone impacts from the hard. These are then first dried and then roasted, depending on the type of preparation style.

 Ground by a stone mill:

In the last but one step, the almonds are ground by hand with a stone mill. The resulting mash is added with lukewarm water, which during constant kneading ensures, that the precious oil releases from the mass. This is then decanted and unfiltered into vessels. In the end, only brown press cake is left, which is likewise used as an animal feed, like the separated pulp. This process of pure handwork lasts a total of 8 hours: for just once 1 liter of Argan oil.

Finally, decant and filter:

Freshly filled into decanting vessels, the argan oil has a cloudy color due to the press residues. However, this takes place after approximately 14 days, after all solid constituents and suspended matter settle on the ground.

When this is done, the fresh oil is gently poured into further vessels. For an even greater purity and thus quality, the subsequent filtering takes place two or three times, depending on the degree of purity.

 Et Voilà: Our high-quality Virgin Argan oil is ready!

 2. The semi-industrial Argan oil production:

 There is hardly any manual work for semi-industrial production. The almonds are treated with a hydraulic or electric oil press. In this process the water supply is completely eliminated. The more economical method: the yield is about 13% higher than the alternative method. The Frequently offered varieties:

  • Roasted Argan Oil:

In the case of roasted argan oil, the argan kernels are roasted in a traditional manner over a wood fire. This effects the oil to contain a strong, nutty flavor later.

  • Unroasted Argan Oil:

In this case, no roasting of the kernels takes place. so the argan oil which is later obtained remains essentially neutral to the taste and free from toasted aromas.

 

L’ARGANIER:

Our cosmetic Argan oil is made from unroasted kernels using the traditional hand pressing method in Morocco, 100% natural, without dyes, without fragrances, without preservatives.