Spanish‐style green table olive shelf‐life

Changes in the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of commercial whole, pitted and stuffed with pepper, garlic or anchovy paste Spanish‐style green table olives of the Gordal, Manzanilla and Hojiblanca cultivars were studied during a three‐year period. No olives developed any spoilage during this period, and at the end of it, all presentations were classified as ‘extra’ according to the sensory evaluation methodology issued by the International Olive Council. Throughout the shelf‐life, surface colour index and firmness of the olives degraded in accordance with a first‐order kinetics, while a gradual browning of the cover brines was observed; however, products added with ascorbic acid maintained a stable colour, while those with calcium content showed reduced firmness degradation. No significant changes in most of the sensory characteristics were observed by the panel test during shelf‐life and only slight changes in firmness, and surface colour were noticed in samples with significant differences in these attributes when measured instrumentally.