Fig. 1 shows the total soluble solids (TSS) analysed through the
refractometer in brine samples. The TSS increased at 60 days and
decreased at 90 days, but this trend had an exception in Nocellara
Messinese samples, in which the TSS always decreased. The extraction
of sugar from the olive flesh initially and its subsequent conversion
into lactic acid could be responsible for the initial
increase and subsequent decrease of TSS. The soluble solids including
sugars transfer into the brine because the salt addition extracts
out water and sugars, besides other nutrients, from the olives into
the brine. This action is important for the starter growth providing
a favourable medium for lactic acid bacteria, such as L. plantarum,
but also for the indigenous bacteria and yeasts introduced into the
brine contaminating the olive skin. The analysis of variance of TSS
values versus the three independent variables, time, cultivar, starter
and their interaction, revealed that only time, cultivar,
time*cultivar (for P < 0.01) and starter*cultivar (P < 0.05) statistically
affected the TSS value.