Comparative Effect of Hammer Mill Screen Size and Cell Wall-Degrading Enzymes During Olive Oil Extraction

[Image: see text] The influence of hammer mill screen size (4.5 and 8.5 mm) and enzyme addition (control and 500 ppm) on olive fruit cell wall breakdown and its consequences in terms of oil recovery and the phenolic content of olive oil was studied at the laboratory scale for “Arbequina” and “Koroneiki” at two different maturities. Water recovery and water-soluble carbohydrates in olive paste after malaxation were measured as an indicator of cell wall breakdown. Smaller screen size and enzymes increase oil recovery for Arbequina with a maturity index of 1.6 (6.3–6.6%); and for Koroneiki at a maturity index of 0.2 (15.0–38%) and 2.6 (1.3–4.3%). For both cultivars, the increase in oil recovery is larger in green fruits compared to more ripe fruit. Water recovery and water-soluble carbohydrates increase with small screen size and the enzyme treatments, even when no increment in oil recovery is observed. The water recovery range was 143–239% for Arbequina and 150–262% for Koroneiki; water-soluble carbohydrate range was 1.8–12.7 g/kg for Arbequina and 0.5–5.4 g/kg for Koroneiki. In general, smaller hammer mill screen size and enzymes increase total phenols in the oil, with a larger difference between control and treatment for green fruit than for the ripe fruit. For Arbequina, increases in total phenol content were in the range of 45–60 and 5–20% at maturity index 1.6 and 3.3, respectively. For Koroneiki, the increases were in the range of 31–121 and 7–9% at maturity index 0.2 and 2.6, respectively. Application of cell wall-degrading enzymes improves the cell wall breakdown caused by hammer mill, leading to higher oil recovery and total phenol content. The magnitude of the effect depends on the cultivar and olive fruit maturity.