Characterization of Turkish Olive Oils by Using Multivariate Statistical Methods
Aytaç S.GÜMÜŞKESEN, Fahri YEMİŞÇİOĞLU
İsmail EREN
Ege University, Engineering Faculty,
Food Engineering Department, İzmir- TÜRKİYE

INTRODUCTION

Virgin olive oil is a food with high nutritional qualities; hence, it is chosen for cooking and dressing by consumer from Mediterranean countries, which represent the world’s largest production area (98% of world’s olive oil).

Factors Affecting Olive Oil Composition

The flavor of extra virgin olive oil has particular desirable organoleptic and nutritional properties. However, chemical composition of the olive oil together with its physical and sensory characteristics mainly depends on several factors such as;

Olive variety

Environmental factors (soil, climate, growing location)
Agronomic factors (irrigation, fertilization)
Cultivation (harvesting method, maturity)
Technological factors (storage, extraction system)

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