Methods and results
Cultivar/maturity stage. Olive oil and fruit samples from six cultivars sampled at four different
maturity stages were discriminated through statistical analysis into cultivars and maturity stages. The
variables – volatile and phenolic compounds – that significantly (p< 0.01) discriminated cultivars and
maturity stage groups were identified. Separation by stepwise linear discriminant analysis revealed
that Manzanilla olive cultivar was separated from cultivars Leccino, Barnea, Mission, Corregiola, and
Paragon, whereas cultivars Corregiola and Paragon formed a cluster. The volatile compounds hexanol,
hexanal, and 1-penten-3-ol were responsible for the discrimination of cultivars. All maturity stages
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were discriminated, with the separation of early stages attributed to oil phenolic compounds, tyrosol
and oleuropein derivatives, whereas the volatile compounds (E)-2-hexenal, hexanol, 1-penten-3-ol,
and (Z)-2-penten-3-ol characterized the separation of all maturity stages and in particular the late
stages. Hexanol and 1-penten-3-ol characterized the separation of both cultivars and maturity stages.
These results demonstrate that objective, instrument-based analyses are capable of measuring
compounds that distinguish between cultivars and maturity stages and that oils from different fruit
give different responses. This knowledge may be utilised in future studies that wish to investigate
more fully the relationship between horticultural practices and sensory properties.