The effect of ripening degree and irrigation regimes of fruits on the quality of extra-virgin olive oil extracted with or without the addition of carbonic snow

To highlight the effects induced by the direct addition of solid carbon dioxide to olive fruits on oil production and phenol accumulation, olive fruits from the same cultivar with different ripening degrees were used. A part of the olives were obtained from irrigated plants, while the other fraction derived from not irrigated olive trees. The yield of oil extracted from olive fruits belonging the same cultivar and coming from the same orchard increased with the ripening degree of the milled fruits. Furthermore, the olives harvested on the same date from irrigated plants produced more oil than those coming from not irrigated trees. In addition, the addition of carbonic snow to fruits characterized by the same ripening index increased both the yield of oil and the concentration of total phenols dissolved in the extra-virgin olive oils.