Use of selected autochthonous lactic acid bacteria for Spanish-style table olive fermentation.

The present work presents a successful attempt to achieve an enhanced and more predictable fermentationprocess in Spanish-style green olive technology by selection and use of autochthonous startercultures. During the first phase of this work, two Spanish-like fermentations of green table olives ofcultivar (cv) “Nocellara del Belice”, coming from irrigated and not irrigated fields, were monitored, inorder to highlight the best agricultural conditions for drupe production and to isolate lactic acid bacteriastrains with relevant technological properties. Among 88 identified isolates, one Lactobacillus pentosusstrain showed remarkable biochemical features and high acidification rate in synthetic brine. In thesecond phase, the selected strain was used as starter culture in three different trials to establish the bestconditions for its use. Microbial counting, as well as starter tracking by M13 RAPD-PCR, reflected theoptimal adaptation of the strain to the environment. Spontaneous fermentation needed a 14-day long lagphase to reach the same population as the inoculated trials. Moreover, sensory traits of table olivesobtained with adjunct culture showed better characteristics compared to those processed in the othertrials, in particular concerning the presence of off-odours.