🫒 Gemlik

Gemlik is a Turkish olive cultivar and the most widespread in the country: according to the World Catalogue of Olive Varieties of the International Olive Council (IOC), it accounts for 48.7 % of all olive trees in Turkey. It comes from the Gemlik district of Bursa Province, in the south of the Marmara Region, and is also known as Trilye, Kara, Kaplik and Kiviricik.

The cultivar is spreading quickly through all olive-growing regions: it roots easily from cuttings, starts bearing early and shows little alternate bearing. Gemlik does well in colder areas but is sensitive to drought; it is partly self-pollinating.

Its main use is black table olives: in Turkey, Greek-style black olives are made from Gemlik. The fruit ripens very early, turns glossy black, has a pleasant taste and firm flesh, and the stone separates easily. The fruit is rich in oil, over 22 % and even up to 29 % according to the IOC, so fruit that is not good enough for curing goes into oil with a delicate bitterness.

Since 2023, Gemlik Zeytini has been an EU protected designation of origin for table olives. It may only be given to ripe fruit of the cultivars Gemlik, Gemlik 21 and Gemlik 27 from the districts of Gemlik, İznik, Orhangazi and Mudanya. The olives are picked from November to the end of December and fermented in brine with 8–14 % sea salt for about five months, or layered with dry salt for at least 3–4 months.

Why it matters to you. Genuine Gemlik Zeytini are small or medium olives (201–410 per kilogram) with thin skin, ranging from burgundy red to black. The brine in the package contains no more than 8 % salt, and for naturally fermented olives no more than 4 %.