Response to hot air drying of some olive cultivars of the south of Italy

Piga, A. and Mincione, B. and Runcio, A. and Pinna, I. and Agabbio, M. and Poiana, M. (2005) Response to hot air drying of some olive cultivars of the south of Italy. Acta Alimentaria, 34 (4). pp. 427-440. ISSN 0139-3006

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Abstract

Olive fruit dehydration is always done locally in non-industrial ovens. This technology poses concern about the quality and safety of the end product. Most of the problems involved in this empirical technology may be solved by a proper control of process parameters. Olive fruits of fourteen Italian cultivars underwent hot air dehydration in mild conditions in a tangential airflow cabinet dryer. At the start, at regular intervals and at the end of the process, sampling was performed to calculate dehydration curves and quality loss. Pre-treatments such as blanching in hot brine, piercing of the skin and salting after blanching were applied. The drying kinetic is strongly affected by pre-treatments and olive characteristics: fruit size, flesh to pit ratio, dry matter. Results showed that mild drying temperature led to slow drying kinetics, even if pre-treatments reduced drying timeto a certain extent. Blanched olives showed, in general, the highest polyphenols content. The fastest drying was measured in the pierced olives, but the best taste was achieved for the salted product.

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