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The impact of cultivar, harvest time, and crop season on olive fruit characteristics and olive oil quality and minor components composition is assessed for super‐high‐density "Arbequina", "Arbosana", and "Koroneiki" in California, United States, during 2016, 2017, and 2018. Fruit oil content reaches a plateau in November for "Arbequina" and "Arbosana," while the accumulation rate keeps constant until early December for "Koroneiki." Free fatty acids, diacylglycerols, pyropheophytins, and ΔK are not affected by any of the considered factors. Peroxide value, K232, and K270 decreases with harvest time. Chlorophylls content decreases with harvest time, more rapidly in "Arbequina" and "Arbosana" than in "Koroneiki". Cultivar is the main factor affecting the fatty acid profile. "Koroneiki" has the highest oleic acid content, followed by "Arbosana" and "Arbequina." Phenolic and volatile compounds are profoundly affected by cultivars and crop seasons, suggesting the relevance of these factors on the sensory and nutritional properties of virgin olive oil from super‐high‐density cultivars. Stepwise linear discriminant analysis allows selecting suitable markers among fatty acids, phenolic, and volatile compounds for cultivar, crop season, and harvest time discrimination. Practical Application: This paper constitutes the first report of a multiyear study considering quality and composition in bioactive compounds of super‐high‐density "Arbequina," "Arbosana," and "Koroneiki," planted in California, USA. This information helps processors understand the differences in oil made from the most common super‐high‐density cultivars along harvest times and for growers to make planting and harvesting decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Sikitita" is a relatively new olive cultivar obtained from crossbreeding between "Picual" and "Arbequina" that can be trained into the super‐high‐density orchard system. The impact of harvest time and crop season (2017 and 2018) on fruit parameters, oil quality, and minor compounds was assessed for super‐high‐density "Sikitita" in California, USA. Maximum olive fruit oil content (~49% on a dry basis) was reached between the first and second weeks of November. Quality parameters were within limits for extra virgin classification for all harvest times during both crop seasons. While total phenols were affected by harvest time, crop year, and their interaction, total volatile content was mainly influenced by harvest time. Both phenolic and volatile compounds reached a maximum concentration by the first week of October, suggesting that harvesting at the beginning of October would lead to a richer oil in terms of minor components. However, oil yield can be maximized if the harvest takes place in November. Our results demonstrated fruit parameters, oil quality, and minor compounds of super‐high‐density "Sikitita" followed a similar pattern and reached comparable values in both years, despite an earlier maturation in 2018. "Sikitita" has potential as a viable cultivar for growers and processors who are looking to expand on the traditional super‐high‐density cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chromatographic techniques such as GC and HPLC are traditionally used for the analysis and classification of olive oil, while NMR is another powerful technique. In this paper we used NMR for the first time to classify olive oil produced by four cultivars, namely 'Arbequina', 'Arbosana', 'Koroneiki', and 'Sikitita', planted in super-high-density frames in California, United States. We compared the results with the targeted analysis of fatty acids and triglycerides obtained by GC-FID and UHPLC-CAD, respectively. All three techniques were able to distinguish between cultivars, with fatty acids from GC-FID generating the best models. GC-FID require time-consuming sample preparation; both GC-FID and UHPLC-CAD require lengthy analysis time and protocols for different classes of compounds, while NMR is rapid and able to conduct a simultaneous broad-spectrum analysis of compounds, which led to the discovery of more biomarkers. In addition, NMR was in a good agreement with GC-FID for the determination of fatty acids, as found by Bland-Altman analysis, although in several cases it was not able to distinguish among individual fatty acids. [Display omitted] • NMR is a rapid and robust tool for the targeted and untargeted analysis of olive oil. • NMR was in a good agreement with GC-FID for the determination of fatty acids. • NMR, GC-FID, and UHPLC-CAD were able to distinguish between olive oil cultivars. • Fatty acids from GC-FID generated the best models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]