Gemlik
also called Trilye, Kara, Kaplık, KıvırcıkThe most widely planted olive in Türkiye — 48.7% of the country’s trees — and it got there on agronomy, not on oil. Easy rooting, cold hardiness, early bearing and low alternate bearing are why it spread; as an oil it is the mildest of the major Turkish varieties.
| Also called | Trilye, Kara, Kaplık, Kıvırcık |
|---|---|
| Main regions | Bursa and southern Marmara; now nationwide |
| Purpose | Dual-purpose — predominantly black table olives |
| Oleic acid | 70–75% |
| Oil yield | 22–23% |
| Harvest | Mid to late October — earlier than Memecik or Ayvalık |
| Designations | Gemlik Zeytini (Turkish PDO no. 76) |
In the grove
Aroma and flavour descriptors
- 1Mild fruitiness
- 2Almond
- 3Soft green notes
The IOC gives medium fruitiness, delicate bitterness and medium pungency. Published Turkish panel medians for Gemlik range from 3.0 to 5.3 fruitiness and down to 2.0 pungency depending on origin.
Ordered by how often each recurs in the published varietal literature, not by measured intensity. Our panel has not scored a monovarietal Gemlik oil, and no sensory panel data for it is published. 40 of the 40 varieties here read the same way.
Gemlik oils in the library
From 1 producerGemlik against the other Türkiye varieties
| Variety | Origin region | Used for | Polyphenols | Shelf stability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ayvalık | Edremit Gulf, Balıkesir | Oil | Not published | Not published |
| Memecik | Muğla, southern Aegean | Dual-purpose | 296–407 mg/kg | Not published |
| Gemlik | Gemlik, Bursa, southern Marmara | Dual-purpose | 244–491 mg/kg | Not published |
| Domat | Akhisar, Manisa | Table | ~351 mg/kg (single study) | Not published |
| Uslu | Akhisar, Manisa | Table | ~163 mg/kg (single study) | Not published |
| Nizip Yağlık | Nizip, Gaziantep, southeastern Anatolia | Oil | Not published | Not published |
| Sarıulak | Tarsus, Mersin | Dual-purpose | 602–836 mg/kg | Not published |
| Erkence | İzmir — Karaburun, Urla, Seferihisar | Dual-purpose | ~87 mg/kg | Not published |
Sources
- IOC World Catalogue of Olive Varieties
- Gemlik Zeytini geographical indication record, Türk Patent
- Olive variety and region in Turkish olive oils, Molecules 31(5):913
Every figure on this page carries a source. Where we could not find one we say so rather than estimating. Corrections are welcome and credited.