Three‐Year Fatty Acid Profiling of Cypriot Monovarietal Virgin Olive Oils at Early and Late Maturity

Virgin olive oil (VOO) singularity springs from the balanced ratio of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (FA), which is under strong genetic and environmental control. Regulation of FA biosynthesis is of great importance in olive due to its connection with composition, oxidative stability, sensory attributes, and ultimately the commercial value of VOOs. The phenotypic and compositional description of olive varieties in different environments, including variation in FA profile, is essential to identify stable varieties with high potential for supporting the typicity of monovarietal VOO. This information has been lacking for local varieties “Ladoelia” and “Kato Drys” used for VOO production in Cyprus and the fatty acid profile configuration of monovarietal VOOs from Cyprus was investigated across three years at early and late fruit maturity stages. Cultivar and maturity stage were principally responsible for the configuration of FA profile, with year displaying a lesser effect. Oleic and linoleic acid were the FA most affected by year‐cultivar‐maturity interaction. “Ladoelia” exhibited a broader range of lipid unsaturation between different years, with oleic acid ranging from 61.2% to 69.3% and linoleic acid from 8.6% to 16.4%. Greater unsaturation was evidenced in 2017, likely due to low temperatures prevailing in October and in the 15‐day period before late harvest. “Kato Drys” had a similar FA profile in all years of study demonstrating a stronger stability concerning FA biosynthesis. Practical applications Our work has mainly contributed to a better understanding of the behavior and characteristics of different cultivars and potential relationships between genomic factors and environmental conditions in olive. In addition, specific knowledge regarding the two main Cypriot indigenous varieties has been produced, characterized by the reported genotype × environment interaction in FA biosynthesis due to differences in varietal stability in different years. This may result in a wider annual fluctuation of Ladoelia VOOs characteristics with impact in overall quality and stability against oxidation, while stronger stability in the biosynthesis of FA evidenced in “Kato Drys” may facilitate the exploitation of its monovarietal VOOs supported by further qualitative attributes determining Kato Drys VOOs’ typicity .