Determination of the characteristic sensory profiles of Alorena table-olive

Alorena olives are unique to and typical of the Guadalhorce region (Malaga, Spain). They possess some specific characteristics which make them an excellent product that is differentiated from the other olive varieties. The sensory profile technique was used to study the sensory attributes which best characterize the three processing styles of Alorena table-olives. The characteristic descriptors are identified according to the round-table method and multivariate analysis. Sensory profile data obtained were analyzed using a mix of Nested Design ANOVA and Factorial ANOVA and by a canonical analysis. The effect of the factor processing style was significant only for three descriptors: fruit odor, bitter taste and firmness (p < 0.05) whereas the effect of the samples nested in each processing style was significant for all the attributes (p < 0.001). Duncan's post hoc test and the canonical analysis showed that all samples were different within each processing style.