Aydın Memecik Olive Oil: bitterness and pungency written into the definition

In olive oil, bitterness and pungency are character, not defect. Aydın Memecik Olive Oil's certificate places them inside the product definition.

The record

The definition

According to the certificate the oil's colour runs from green to golden yellow, its fruit aroma is intensely perceived, and its bitterness and pungency are pronounced.

This is a definition built not on adjectives but on the product's actual profile: Memecik is known for high polyphenol content, and that property is written directly into the definition.

Criteria

Peroxide ≤18 sits below the codex ceiling of 20. Total phenols >100 mg/kg is a floor written into the definition — the chemical counterpart of the claim to bitterness and pungency.

A defect median of zero means no defect may be detected by the sensory panel.

Climate

The certificate describes the belt the olive tree wants: mild wet winters, dry summers, and springs that are partly cool and wet. Aydın fits that description.

Three registrations, one exchange

The Aydın Commodity Exchange holds three olive registrations: Aydın Memecik Olive (749), Aydın Memecik Olive Oil (535) and Aydın Yamalak Sarısı Olive (732). Two are the table and oil lines of one cultivar; the third is a separate cultivar.

The criteria the document binds

The registration does not only protect a name; it defines the product numerically:

That the document sets a floor for total phenolic content is notable — most registrations never define phenol levels, although bitterness, pungency and shelf-life behaviour largely depend on them. Limiting the time from harvest to pressing binds the operation rather than the outcome: free fatty acidity rises while the fruit waits. The document also bars windfall olives — fruit picked off the ground is the main source of mould and fermentation defects.

Inspection. Members: Aydın Ticaret Borsası, Aydın İl Tarım ve Orman Müdürlüğü. Results are reported under Industrial Property Law no. 6769 and submitted to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.

The production steps in the document

The registration describes production step by step. The document's own sequence:

1. Zeytinlerin Hasadı — Aydın Memecik Zeytinyağı, ağaçtan meyveye hasar vermeyecek makine veya elle hasat edilerek toprakla temas etmeden toplanmış̧ zeytinlerden elde edilir.

2. Zeytinlerin Saklama ve Taşıma Koşulları — Zeytinler gıda ile temasa uygun, temiz, tercihen plastik kasalarda, hava alacak şekilde depolanır ve taşınır.

3. Zeytinlerin Temizlenmesi ve Yıkanması — Yaprak ince dal, diğer bitkisel maddeler, toprak, toz gibi mineral maddeler, çakıl taşı ve taşlar vibrasyon, hava akımı veya elek ile ayrılır.

4. Zeytinlerin Kırılması ve Ezilmesi — Kırma işlemi, meyvenin kırılarak yağ̆ fazının ayrılacağı hamurun elde edilmesi işlemidir.

5. Zeytinlerin Yoğurulması (malaksasyon) — Zeytin hamurunun sıcaklığı yağın viskozitesini azaltmak ve yağ̆ damlalarının kolay birleşmesini sağlamak amacıyla 25- 35°C arasında olmalıdır.

6. Zeytin ezmesinden yağın ekstraksiyonu — Ekstraksiyon hidrolik presleme, sinolea / perkolasyon / soğuk damlama/seçici filtrasyon, kontinü santrifüj sistem metotlarından herhangi birisiyle gerçekleştirilebilir.

7. Karasuyun Zeytinyağından Ayrılması — Bu aşamada yağ̆, su ve posanın tamamen ayrılması amaçlanır.

8. Zeytinyağının Depolanması — Zeytinyağının depolanmasında gıda ile temasa uygun malzeme kullanılır.

That this sequence is binding is what separates a geographical indication from a trade mark: a mark says who produced something, a geographical indication also sets down how it must be produced.

The cultivar behind it, measured

The registration is granted to a place, but the cultivar the definition rests on has measurable values:

Oil content reaches 28% at the top of its range — on its own enough to justify pressing. The cultivar is partially self-fertile; pollinators are used to secure yield. A flesh-to-stone ratio of 5.86 is the basic measure of how much of a table olive is actually eaten.

Its place in Aydın's olive production

79% of the province's fruit goes to oil. An oil-based registration matches how the province actually produces.