Concentrations of Aroma Compounds and Odor Activity Values of Odorant Series in Different Olive Cultivars and Their Oils

Olives from Picual, Arbequina, Manzanilla de Sevilla, and Local cultivars together with their corresponding oils were analyzed in terms of odor activity values (OAVs) to establish the relationship between the aromatic profile of both olives and oils. The OAVs for the different compounds were classified in nine odorant series: grass, leaf, wood, bitter, sweet, pungent, olive fruit, apple, and banana. The total intensities for every aromatic series were calculated as the sum of the OAVs of each compound associated with this series. As a result, olives had characteristic profiles. Picual cultivar had not a clear sensory characterization from the volatile compounds. Arbequina cultivar was mainly characterized by apple and bitter odorant series; Manzanilla de Sevilla by apple, bitter, and grass odorant series; and Local variety by banana and olive fruit. However, in the oils obtained from those olives, these differences disappeared, and all oils showed the same profile with pungent, bitter, and wood odorant series most strongly contributing.