Characterisation of Olive Oils from the Douro Valley, Portugal: Study of the Volatile Fraction and Its Relationship with Sensory Characteristics

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The manuscript under evaluation, Applied Sciences refª 1884887, entitled “Characterisation of olive oils from the Douro Valley, Portugal: study of the volatile fraction and its relationship with sensory characteristics” is interesting and is within the scope of the Applied Sciences journal.

The overall presentation, organization and length of the manuscript are adequate, and the references are adequate and necessary. The sources of all Materials and Methods are well described. With respect to most of the interpretations and conclusions, they are well justified by the experimental data and its analysis. The work is in line with the author’s research. In my opinion, the manuscript is suitable for publication in Applied Sciences journal.

The authors may improve the quality of the manuscript by considering the following minor comments:

- Line 71-75 Sampling

Characterization of samples and agronomic and pedoclimatic conditions of sub-regions of the Douro Valley: I suggest the inclusion of more information to characterize the samples and the sub-regions, namely the number of samples per sub-region, olive cultivar, edaphoclimatic and pedoclimatic conditions and, if possible, the ripening stage, age of the trees, agricultural practices, and the process of extraction.

All samples were considered extra virgin, but data and sensory evaluation results were not presented.

- Line 132 - Table 1 - average concentration of the different compounds:

The authors must clarify the values presented in brackets.

-  Line 228 – Figure 2:

Authors should improve figure 2, volatile compounds names and sensory attributes are not visible.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Keywords - I suggest adding the word olive oils

Differentiation - do you think it is a suggestive term for Keywords?

Sampling - I suggest a more detailed description of the sampling method, more precisely the type of packaging used and the storage method until the analysis is carried out.

Sensory analysis - How many people does the group of evaluators consist of?

I also suggest other physico-chemical analyses, for example analyzes regarding oxidation, which can influence the aroma.

I suggest more clarity for Dendrograms.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf