Reduction of Virgin Olive Oil Bitterness by Fruit Cold Storage

• Published in: Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 2008-11, Vol.56 (21), p.10085-10091
• Main Authors: Yousfi, Khaled, Cayuela, José A, García, José M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; bitterness; Chemical Changes Induced by Processing/Storage; cold storage; Cold Temperature; Fat industries; food composition; Food Handling - methods; Food industries; food processing; food quality; food storage; Fruit - chemistry; Fruit and vegetable industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; green mature olives; Oil quality; Olea - chemistry; Olea europaea; olive maturity; Olive Oil; olives; phenolic compounds; Phenols - analysis; Plant Oils - chemistry; refrigeration; storage quality; storage time; Taste; virgin olive oil
• ISSN: 0021-8561; 1520-5118
• DOI: 10.1021/jf801951g

Green mature olives (Olea europaea L. cv. ‘Manzanilla’, ‘Picual’, and ‘Verdial’) were stored at 5 °C, and the oil extracted from them showed a middle intensity level of sensory-evaluated bitterness. The storage times necessary for this reduction were different for the three varieties tested, requiring 4, 6, and 8 weeks, respectively, for ‘Manzanilla’, ‘Picual’, and ‘Verdial’ olives. The level of commercial quality of the extracted oil did not deteriorate as a consequence of previous fruit storage. Olives matured during refrigeration at 5 °C, as the increase of maturation index and the decrease of color index and fruit firmness indicated. Similarly, as the fruit storage period progressed, the total phenolic compound content of the extracted oils decreased. Although the use of green mature olives may require a more prolonged storage time, it allows for a better postharvest handling of the fruits, which are more resistant to physical damage or fungal infections than the riper ones.