INTEGRAL CENTRIFUGES FOR OLIVE OIL EXTRACTION - THE QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF PRODUCTS

Oil extraction experiments with three olive varieties (Coratina, Nebbi o, and Grossa di Cassano) were carried out to compare the two-phase ce ntrifugal decanter with conventional three-phase equipment. The result s showed that the two-phase centrifugal extractor renders better quali tative characteristics in the oils, which were comparable to pressed o r filtered oils. The two-phase decanter product exhibited higher conte nts of polyphenols, ortho-diphenols, hydroxytyrosol, tocopherols, tran s-2-hexenal and total aromatic volatile substances. Furthermore, the o ils received a higher sensorial score and were characterized by higher values of oxidative stability and campesterol/stigmasterol ratio; low er values of turbidity, alcohol index and chromatic indices; lower con tent of pigments, steroid hydrocarbons, stigmastatriene, waxes and ali phatic and triterpenic alcohols.