Troncedo
Pictures: 03.VI.2003
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Mills in Altoaragón - aceitero
Troncedo |
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| Troncedo is a village
on the road from Tierrantona to Graus. Both should be on any map. It's
probably best to drop the car at the main plaza and from there
walk the road down to the south (Graus). You'll soon see the mill
under the High Tension line. A path leading to the mill starts in one of the bends.
The white arrow indicates the entrance, the black arrow shows the position of the
road. The mill is in very good condition. If I was the owner I would clean it, apply
a drop of oil where needed and for a small fee give guided tours for tourists.
Pictures: 03.VI.2003 |
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| Molino de Troncedo | Interior |
| The mill of Troncedo is almost invisible below the lush vegetation. The same holds true for the path. Unless you have the luck that it was recently cleared, it's best to go not too lightly dressed. The entrance is hidden behind a waterfall of wild Ivy. You enter the aceitero through a double door. After your eyes adapt to the dark you'll see a huge workplace. It's almost as if the miller went away just a moment ago and will soon come back from the local bar. | First thing to the left is the press, then deeper inside the balsa (left) and at the right the temporary storage (algorínes). In the opposite wall is a doorway towards a second room with fodder-troughs for the animals who's task it was to turn the wheel (ruello). It's peculiar that this room is fully integrated into the mill. When such a space is present it's often next to the mill (as in Bara) and not inside. |
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| containers (algorín) used to stock the fresh olives. | Balsa with ruello. |
| Olives brought to the
mill were first unloaded into the temporary storage containers. Sometimes (e.g.
Castilsabás) an azulejo was cemented
into the wall to indicate which algorín was dedicated to whose olives.
The first step in the oil winning process was to crush the olives. That happened in the balsa where the ruello was turned around by animal force. |
The balsa
in most mills (e.g. Abizanda, Coscojuela)
is a simple circular flat with a small border. In Troncedo the balsa-ruello engine is
transformed in a contraption making the process highly automated. Proof
that efficiency doesn't necessarily means computers.
The ruello and a wooden box are attached to a common axis. The box was charged with olives. |
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| At the rear of this box is a valve. The opening can be adjusted by means of a screw. A metal rod attached to the box forces olives escaping through the slit from the centre to the outside of the balsa into the runway of the wheel. Eventually the olives reach the gutter at the periphery of the balsa. | A small plate (also moving together with the box) pushes the crushed olives towards a zone where the gutter is made broader and deeper. That's where the miller collects the paste ready for the press. (Notice the scraper to keep the ruello clean.) |
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In the next step the miller
stacks the press (prensa) with circular mats (esteras) dressed with the mash from the balsa.
The miller then turns the big steering-wheel to highten the
pressure and drive the oil-water mixture out into the first stone pila. The oil
flows then over into the second reservoir.
The block of the press carries a label La MaquinistaWe've seen the same factory in the mill of Mipanas on a press model 82 of 1880 ! |
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| prensa with pilas |
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brand label on the prensa | |
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Introduction Learn about the parts of a mill Visit the mills Read more about mills © and e-mail: |
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| Next stop on the aceitero trail |