Fruit washing influence on extra virgin olive oil quality: a sensory perspective

Abstract

In this work the washing operation applied to fruits of olive tree (Olea europaea) will be studied to verify its influence on the quality of the oils that can be obtained subsequently. For this purpose, 60 fruit samples (of 7.5 kg each) were taken from a rainfed farm, dedicated to Picual variety under organic crop production, and the corresponding oils were obtained by washing and by non-washing such samples. After carrying out diverse sensory analyses (in which were assessed sensory attributes as green fruity, bitter, pungent, sweet, green leaf, grass, apple, almond and tomato), it is worth noting that, under the conditions in which this study was conducted, it is observed that there are no relevant differences among the oils obtained by washing and by non-washing the olive fruits. This fact is relevant and it could be considered by the producers of this sector when making decisions about the unit operations more indicated to apply in order to get high-quality oils.