RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE COMPOSITION AND RIPENING OF THE OLIVE AND QUALITY OF THE OIL

Given the nature of olive growing, it is unthinkable that olive oil could match the price of other vegetable fats, even under the most favourable conditions (intensive irrigated plantations, mechanized picking, etc.).

A genuine quality is what should justify the consumer's paying a higher price for olive oil. Therefore it could be said that the survival of the olive depends on the fomenting and spread of those olive oils with authentic characteristics of quality (Ministerio de Agricultura, 1983).

However the definition of oil quality is a complex problem, since it can be considered from distinct points of view, and because its measurement can be attempted using diverse parameters instrumental or sensory. Bases on our present knowledge, we can consider the qualitative evaluation of quality from three points of view: a) commercial; b) nutritional or dietetic; and c) organoleptic.