Effect of different inoculation strategies of selected yeast and LAB cultures on Conservolea and Kalamàta table olives considering phenol content, texture and sensory attributes.

BACKGROUND: In the present work, the effect of different inoculation strategies of selected starters i.e., yeasts and lactic acid bacteria (LAB), used for the fermentation process of two Greek olive cultivars namely, Conservolea and Kalamàta was studied. The applied LAB strains were Leuconostoc mesenteroides K T5-1 and L. plantarum A 135-5, whereas the yeast selected strains were S. cerevisiae KI 30-16 and Debaryomyces hansenii A 15-44 for Kalamàta and Conservolea olives, respectively. RESULTS: Table olives fermentation processes were monitored by performing microbiological analyses, changes in pH, titratable acidity and salinity, sugar consumption and volatile compounds evolution. Structural modifications occurring in phenolic compounds of brines were investigated during the fermentations using liquid chromatography/diode array detection/electrospray ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (LC/DAD/ESI-MSn ) and quantified by means of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using a diode array detector. Phenolic compounds in processed Kalamàta olive brines consisted of phenolic acids, verbascoside, caffeoyl-6-secologanoside, comselogoside and the dialdehydic form of decarboxymethylelenolic acid linked to hydroxytyrosol, whereas oleoside and oleoside 11-methyl ester were identified only in Conservolea olive brines. CONCLUSION: Volatile profile and sensory evaluation revealed that MIX (co-inoculum of yeast and LAB strain) inoculation strategy led to the most aromatic and acceptable Kalamàta olives. For the Conservolea table olives, YL treatment gave the most aromatic and the overall most acceptable product. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.