Tasting > Components and Characteristics

The Components of an oil and its Organoleptic Characteristics

We have seen that the organoleptic characteristics are determined by colour, smell, taste and by the rheological behaviour of a food; now let us try to understand which components of an oil contribute to modify its organoleptic profile. A large number of liposoluble pigments make up the colour of an oil, such as Xantophyll, chlorophyll, carotenes and carotenoids. If chlorophyll prevails we will have green oils, whereas a majority of carotenes and carotenoids will give us yellow oils of greater or lesser intensity.

The aromatic nuances which are noticeable through the mouth and nose are determined by many chemical substances which can be ascribed in general to volatile aromatic compounds and polyphenols or more generally to minor polar compounds. These derive from particular compounds present in olives which, after hydrolytic processes, become partly soluble in oil.

Both the degree of ripeness of the olives, and agricultural aspects such as extraction technologies, have a huge influence on the quality of the substances which make up the flavour of an olive oil. The sensation of astringency on the tongue, typical of when biting an unripe fruit, is characteristic for example of tannic phenolic compounds. In many newly-pressed oils, bitterness tends to prevail, a typical note of oils obtained from imperfectly ripe olives and which can be attributed to the abundance of flavonoids and secoiridoids; high concentrations of these substances also determine sensations of pungency; low concentrations are characteristic of sweet oils.

In future when incredibly sophisticated instruments will be able to separate every single component in the sensory profile of an olive oil, the sensory analyst will have less to do; until then, however, the taster will be a fundamental figure in defining the quality of olive oil.

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