Study of new procedures of elaboration of alkalitreated green table olives, not fermented, preserved by heat treatments

Two new procedures for the elaboration of alkali-treated green table olives, without fermentation, preserved by sterilization or pasteurization were studied. In each case, the aim was to obtain a product with good quality and guaranteed safety. In the sterilized product, it was demonstrated that by including a pitting step during elaboration, a product was obtained with both flavour and texture similar to those of «green ripe olives», but without the need to apply an excessive number of washes. Alkalizing agents added to the packing solution negatively affected the organoleptic olive properties. In case of the pasteurized product, a pitting step during elaboration was also demonstrated to be effective in improving olive flavour. Fruit texture was not significantly affected by this step. Both herbal extracts and monosodium glutamate added to the packing solution successfully masked the «cooked» flavour of olives associated with pasteurisation.