A Study on the Nutritional Value of Hurma Olives (Erkence cv.) that Lose the Bitterness on the Tree

Hurma olive (Olea europea L.) is known to be a product that is formed as a result of debittering that occurs in the fruits of Erkence olive cultivars leading the removal of the bitter taste in the olive when it is still on the tree and thus making the olive edible. “Debittering” is the term expressed as the maturation period occurring in the olive fruit while it is still on the tree. In this study, the aim was to harvest Hurma olives from different locations of the Karaburun peninsula in order to determine the nutritional value. For this purpose, measurements were carried out on samples in order to determine their oil (%), protein (%), total sugars (%), reduced sugar (%), starch (%), energy (kcal 100 g-1), pH, total phenolic compound (mg cafeic acid equivalent (CAE) 100 g-1), mineral element (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B) contents. Besides, new harvested Hurma olives and dry salted ones stored for 1 year, that had been collected from three different locations of the peninsula, were compared in terms of some chemical properties. Hurma olives were determined to have 38.63% oil, 1.2% protein, 0.52% total sugar, 1.24% starch and the pH value of 5.52. They are regarded as a good source of energy due to the considerably higher oil (359.8 kcal 100 g-1), phenolic compounds (288.71 mg CAE 100 g-1) and mineral element content. It was found out that Hurma olives had high values in terms of mineral element content (N 0.57%, P 0.12%, K 1.42%, Ca 0.09%, Mg 0.04%, Fe 61.44 mg kg-1, Mn 5.23 mg kg-1, Zn 6.40 mg kg-1, Cu 5.53 mg kg-1, B 21.27 mg kg-1) as well. The effects of the salt applications on phenolic compound and reduced sugar content of the olive samples was found statistically insignificant (P>0.05). According to the results obtained, the consumption of Hurma olive might be considered to be beneficial for human health due to its salt-free composition, nutritive compounds, total phenolic compound content and the amount of energy it provides.