Domat
Catalogued as Türkiye’s leading green table variety — and yet in the one peer-reviewed head-to-head comparison, its oil came out the most phenol-rich, most bitter and most pungent of the Turkish cultivars tested. The largest gap in this set between a variety’s commercial role and its oil.
In the grove
Domat is the variety of Akhisar in Manisa and the surrounding Aegean, at about 7.6% of Türkiye’s olive trees. It is strongly vigorous with a dense spreading canopy, medium in both cold and drought tolerance, partially self-fertile, and productive regularly rather than in alternate years. The fruit is the largest of the Turkish cultivars here — around 140 fruits per kilo, flesh-to-stone 7.3 — with a high moisture requirement.
Almost all of the crop goes to green table processing, so very little Domat oil reaches the market. That is worth knowing before reading its analysis: the phenol and sensory figures below come from a single peer-reviewed comparison of five cultivars picked in the last week of October, not from a body of commercial samples.
Compared with the other reference cultivars
| Cultivar | Origin | Typical polyphenols | Sensory profile | Best pairing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domat | Manisa, Türkiye | ~351 mg/kg (single study) | Bitter and pungent, persistent — unusual for a table variety | The olive itself; the oil suits robust dishes |
| Picual | Jaén, Spain | 300–700 mg/kg | Intensely green, clean bitterness, late-building pungency | Tomato salad, grilled vegetables, bread and salt |
| Coratina | Puglia, Italy | 330–410 mg/kg | Powerfully green and herbaceous, strong bitterness and pungency | Bean soups, grilled meat, bitter greens |
| Koroneiki | Messinia, Greece | Around the Greek mean; Cretan surveys 138–441 mg/kg | Green and aromatic, balanced bitterness and pungency | Greek salad, feta, grilled fish, horta |
| Arbequina | Lleida, Spain | 200–230 mg/kg | Soft, sweet entry, barely bitter, light pungency | Fish, salads, baking, mayonnaise |
| Ayvalık | Balıkesir, Türkiye | Reported 46–235 mg/kg; no stable typical value | Green and aromatic, moderate bitterness, gentle pungency | Mezze, white cheese, raw vegetables, fish |
| Memecik | Muğla, Türkiye | 296–407 mg/kg | The most bitter and pungent of the Turkish cultivars measured | Bean dishes, lamb, grilled meat, strong greens |
| Gemlik | Bursa, Türkiye | 244–491 mg/kg | Mild and approachable, delicate bitterness, low pungency | Breakfast table, soft cheese, eggs, salads |
Polyphenol figures are the ranges published for each variety, not measurements of any bottle in the library. A single oil's figure depends on when it was picked and how it was milled, and is shown on that oil's own page where the producer states one.