日本語版

virgin olive oil

ingredient / ingredient-virgin-olive-oil

/ Olea europaea

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  5. Sensory (1)
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Short definition

A virgin olive oil category for which extra-virgin classification has not necessarily been confirmed. Used in studies assessing the effects of irrigation, potassium fertilization, and frost damage.

A reader-facing overview for this entry is in preparation. What has been checked, and its sources, can be followed from the claim cards below.

Other names: VOO (en)

Hypotheses and recipe candidates for this entry are on the Japanese page.

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Composition and content (1)

virgin olive oil — composition: Virgin olive oil (VOO) pressed from olives frozen at −3±1 °C for 12 hours to simulate light frost had lower total phenols than VOO from fresh fruit (significant at the May (month 5) and June (month 6) harvests, not significant in July (month 7)), significantly lower secoiridoid compounds (especially in May (month 5) and June (month 6)), and significantly lower antioxidant capacity at all 3 harvests. In sensory evaluation, a slight "frostbitten olives" defect was found. The abstract says it was rated more "pungent", but in the text neither pungency nor bitterness differed significantly from oil from fresh fruit (the pungency median was higher for oil from frozen fruit in May (month 5) and June (month 6)).supported

Scope: 'Arbequina' olives in Chile. 3 harvests in May (month 5), June (month 6) and July (month 7), 15 irrigation, potassium and copper treatments. Frost was simulated by artificially freezing harvested fruit (not frost in the field)

Oil pressed from fruit frozen at −3±1 °C for 12 hours (simulating light frost) had lower total phenols than oil from fresh fruit (significant in May (month 5) and June (month 6), not significant in July (month 7)). Secoiridoids also decreased significantly with freezing (especially in May (month 5) and June (month 6)), and antioxidant capacity (ORAC) decreased significantly at all 3 harvests. In sensory evaluation, fruitiness of oil from frozen fruit was significantly lower in May (month 5) and June (month 6), and there was no significant difference in bitterness or pungency (the pungency median was higher for oil from frozen fruit in May (month 5) and June (month 6), but not significantly). The abstract describes oil from frozen fruit as "more pungent" and as having a slight "frostbitten olives" defect.
Source: The Management of Irrigation and Potassium Fertilization to Mitigate the Effect of Light Frosts on the Phenolic and Volatile Compounds in Virgin Olive Oils (Antonelli S; Pozas S; Saavedra-Torrico J; Donders M; Bustamante C; Sepúlveda B; Tapia F; García-González DL; Romero N, 2024) · full text checked
Show dataingredient-virgin-olive-oil —has_composition→ (the claim sentence above)
claim: clm-olive-frost-reduces-phenols / type: composition / updated: 2026-10-21

Sensory (1)

virgin olive oil — perceived bitterness is affected by: 'Arbequina' cultivar olives, a Box-Behnken design (15 plots in total) combining 3 irrigation levels (75% ET0 = 5,202 m3/ha, 100% ET0 = 6,950 m3/ha, 125% ET0 = 8,718 m3/ha), 3 potassium fertilization levels (100, 175, and 250 UK2O kg/ha as K2O equivalent from potassium sulfate), and 3 foliar copper levels. Sensory optimization was done only for the May (month 5) harvest, when sensory ratings were highest; in the response-surface prediction, the median fruitiness and bitterness scores for VOO from fresh fruit were maximized at 75% ET0 irrigation with 250 UK2O potassium. For VOO from artificially frozen fruit (simulating light frost, −3±1 °C for 12 hours), the median fruitiness and bitterness were maximized at 75% ET0 irrigation with 100 UK2O potassium. Pungency of the oil from frozen fruit alone was maximized at the same irrigation level with 204 UK2O potassium, so the three attributes were not all maximized together at the same combination. For the partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), the abstract and discussion say that 75-100% ET0 irrigation combined with zero potassium fertilization correlated positively with the fruitiness, pungency, and bitterness attributes and with specific secoiridoids, but zero fertilization is not among the 3 levels given in the methods (100, 175 and 250), so the source is internally inconsistent.supported

Scope: 'Arbequina' cultivar olives, Chile, a trial across fruit ripening stages over 3 harvests in May (month 5), June (month 6) and July (month 7). Freezing was an artificial post-harvest treatment

Note: Sensory evaluation was performed by a trained panel of 9 members, following the IOC-approved COI-T20-Doc.-15 method. Note that the estimated optimal conditions are predictions from a response-surface model based on the Box-Behnken design, not values that the panel actually measured independently for each combination.

Sensory optimization was a response-surface prediction made only for the May (month 5) harvest: the median fruitiness and bitterness scores were predicted to be highest at 75% ET0 irrigation + 250 UK2O potassium for fresh fruit, and at 75% ET0 irrigation + 100 UK2O potassium for artificially frozen fruit (−3±1 °C for 12 hours). The abstract and discussion state that in PLS-DA, 75-100% ET0 irrigation with zero potassium fertilization correlated positively with bitterness and other attributes, but zero potassium is not among the 3 levels given in the methods (100, 175 and 250 UK2O).
Limitations: The estimated optimal conditions are predicted values from the Box-Behnken response-surface model; the combinations themselves were not independently regrown and measured. Sensory optimization used May (month 5) data only. The zero-fertilization level is not in the methods, so the PLS-DA statement is internally inconsistent in the source. Single cultivar, single origin, single year.
Source: The Management of Irrigation and Potassium Fertilization to Mitigate the Effect of Light Frosts on the Phenolic and Volatile Compounds in Virgin Olive Oils (Antonelli S; Pozas S; Saavedra-Torrico J; Donders M; Bustamante C; Sepúlveda B; Tapia F; García-González DL; Romero N, 2024) · full text checked
Show dataingredient-virgin-olive-oil —has_perceived_bitterness_affected_by→ (the claim sentence above)
claim: clm-arbequina-voo-irrigation-potassium-bitterness / type: sensory / updated: 2026-10-21

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