Effect of the extraction conditions of virgin olive oil on the lipoxygenase cascade: Chemical and sensory implications

The volatile compounds produced through the lipoxygenase cascade are respon sible for the most remarkable sensory attributes of virgin olive oil. The p aper analyses the evolution of these compounds according to different condi tions of temperature and time of the malaxing process. The influence of the se parameters on the production of Ca and Cg volatile compounds is stated t ogether with the effect that the amount of these compounds has on the most remarkable virgin olive oil sensory descriptors (green, bitter-pungent, swe et and undesirable). Optima values of temperature and time are given for pr oducing high sensory quality virgin olive oils. Three cultivars, Spanish Pi cual and Italian Frantoio and Coratina, were characterised by sensory attri butes and volatile compounds quantified by two different methodologies in o rder to avoid that results could be circumscribed to a specific cultivar or a quantification method.