Memecik
also called Aşı Yeli, Gülümbe, Şehir, Tekir, YağlıkTürkiye’s leading oil cultivar and the most assertive of them on the palate — published Turkish panel work puts it at the top of both the bitterness and the pungency scale. It is also highly drought resistant, which matters more every year in the southern Aegean.
| Also called | Aşı Yeli, Gülümbe, Şehir, Tekir, Yağlık |
|---|---|
| Main regions | Aydın, Muğla, İzmir, Manisa, Denizli |
| Purpose | Dual-purpose — mainly oil, also green and black table |
| Oleic acid | 73–76% |
| Oil yield | High, above 22% |
| Harvest | Mid-November to mid-December, late |
| Designations | Aydın Memecik Zeytinyağı (EU PDO, 2024); Milas Zeytinyağı |
In the grove
Aroma and flavour descriptors
- 1Green fruit
- 2Bitter herbs
- 3Fresh almond
- 4Pepper
Published panel medians on a 10 cm scale (multi-region Turkish study): bitterness up to 5.5, pungency up to 6.1 — the highest recorded in that work. The IOC describes a balanced profile of fruity, bitter and pungent attributes.
Ordered by how often each recurs in the published varietal literature, not by measured intensity. Our panel has not scored a monovarietal Memecik oil, and no sensory panel data for it is published. 40 of the 40 varieties here read the same way.
Memecik oils in the library
From 2 producers
Memecik 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
- Olive variety and region in Turkish olive oils, Molecules 31(5):913
- Aydın Memecik Zeytinyağı recognised by the EU
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.