A Rapid Application to Flavor the Olive Oil with Dried Rosmarinus officinalis L. Leaves: Microwave‐Assisted Maceration

• Published in: Journal of food processing and preservation 2017-06, Vol.41 (3), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Benmoussa, Hasnia, Farhat, Asma, Elfalleh, Walid, Di Maio, Ilona, Servili, Maurizio, Romdhane, Mehrez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0145-8892; 1745-4549
• DOI: 10.1111/jfpp.12885

Microwave‐assisted maceration (MAM) was developed as a new and rapid application to flavor the olive oil with dried Rosmarinus officinalis L. leaves. MAM was compared to conventional method (CM) in terms of rapidity of maceration, yield and sensory characteristic of flavored olive oils. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) sheds light on the physical action of the both maceration methods. 1,8‐cineole and camphor were two major volatile compounds of rosemary essential oil identified by GC/MS, they were used as keys estimating the level of maceration. The flavored olive oil obtained by MAM for 400 W and 10 min was quantitatively (yield) better than those obtained by CM for 12 h. The SEM showed clearly that the cells were broken and damaged more quickly in MAM than in CM. The MAM was proposed as an efficient, simple and fast application for direct maceration of olive oil with rosemary leaves. Practical Applications Flavoring the olive oil with aromatic plants has been an increasing topic in the food industry, because it provided a new concept by adding value to the olive oil, at the same time, satisfy the sensory requirements of the consumer. Recently, much attention has been given to the application of the microwave energy in several industrial processes. Therefore, the objective of this study was to flavor the olive oil with rosemary leaves using the microwave‐assisted maceration (MAM) to enhance the speed of maceration compared to the conventional method. The appropriate comparisons in terms of maceration kinetic, yield and sensory characteristic of flavored oils were determined and the results were discussed.