Derik Halhalı Olive Oil: a burn reminiscent of red pepper

Pungency in olive oil is not a fault but an indicator of phenolic compounds. The certificate for Derik Halhalı Olive Oil describes that sensation with unusual directness.

The record

What the certificate says

t; It has a low free acidity and a high phenolic content. For this reason, once taken into the mouth it spreads over the tongue and lips to produce a lasting, pronounced burn reminiscent of red pepper.

That is a rare sensory statement in a registration document — and its cause is given: phenolic content.

Measured values

The upper limit on free acidity is 0.60, where the legal ceiling for extra virgin is 0.8 — so the certificate defines a narrower band than the codex.

We explained what acidity means in olive oil separately, and covered the compounds behind pungency in oleocanthal and polyphenols.

One cultivar, two provinces

The Halhalı cultivar underpins two separate registrations: Derik Halhalı Olive Oil here in Mardin, and Hatay Halhalı Olive as a table olive in Hatay. Oil at one end, table at the other.

South-eastern Anatolia forms its own belt on Türkiye's olive map: see the olive map.

In short

Derik Halhalı Olive Oil is a designation of origin distinguished by low acidity and high phenol content. The most striking thing about the certificate is that it defines the distinguishing feature through a table of chemistry and what that chemistry does in the mouth.

Source: Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, Geographical Indication Registration Certificate No 1249 — Derik Halhalı Zeytinyağı.