In this research the observation of the preservation process of turning colour olives of Oblica cultivar (an autochthonous Croatian cultivar) processed according to the Californian type of processing has been carried out. Although the oblica cultivar is the most frequent cultivar in Croatian orchards, it is absolutely unexplored concerning the concentration of polyphenolic compounds (oleuropein and its derivatives) as well as concerning the composition of natural microflora in the fruit. It has been very important to determine to what extent the choice of preserving technology is optimal for the cultivar’s particularities. The changes of fundamental physical and chemical features of brine (total acidity, pH value, the concentration of sodium chloride, the concentration of sugar, and brine temperature) have been screened during the process of preservation. The appearance of the lactobacilli population has also been observed. The Lactobacillus plantarum species has been isolated and identified in this population on the seventh day after the fruit has been put in brine. The Lactobacillus plantarum species has been isolated and identified by means of the API 50 CHL (“bioMérieux”, France) biochemical test and the APILAB PLUS (“bioMérieux”, France) software. During further phases of the process, no appearance of the lactobacilli has been identified. On the basis of our physical and chemical examinations, we have concluded that the type of processing of turning colour olives of Oblica cultivar (which was applied without a complete knowledge of the Oblica’s particularities) did not give optimal and expected values (low brine temperature, exceptionally high acidity of the medium). We have also concluded that it is necessary for further research to include the examinations of the portion of polyphenolic compounds in the fruit, as well as the examinations of the composition of naturally present microflora. Both examinations represent the prerequisites for an optimal process of preservation and for reaching the best quality of the product.

lactic fermentation; Lactobacillus plantarum; Oblica cultivar; table olives

Published by University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagreb, CROATIA
Sponsored by Ministry Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia