Effect of different pretreatments on drying of green table olives (Ascolana teneravar.)

Mature green olives (Olea europeaL.) were dried in a forced air oven at 50°C, after being subject alternatively to four different pre-treatments. Results indicate the possibility to obtain bitter-free and high quality olives by combining a ten minutes dip in hot brine (50°C) followed by 32 hours dehydration. The latter product reached 20% residual humidity and did not rotted for one year.