Uslu olive: characteristics, oil content and growing areas
Akhisar's black table variety. Overshadowed by Gemlik, yet holding its own market.
Uslu is the Aegean's name for the black table olive. What Gemlik is to Marmara, Uslu is around Akhisar — though it never gained the same national profile.
Uslu in numbers
| Oil content | 21% |
| Fruits per kilo | 280 |
| Flesh ratio | 85% |
| Use | Table (black) |
| Main areas | Akhisar |
Source: Efe, Soykan, Cürebal and Sönmez (2016), Zeytin Kitabı. Fields the source leaves blank are shown as "—"; nothing has been estimated.
Akhisar's black table olive
Uslu is one of three varieties — with Gemlik and Edincik Su — that are widely processed as black table olives in Türkiye. Its centre is Akhisar; it is also grown in the western Mediterranean.
At 280 fruits per kilo and 85% flesh, it sits slightly larger and fleshier than Gemlik rather than in the same class. One study measured Uslu fruit length at 24.65 mm, against 25.67 mm for Memecik in the same work.
Why is it less known than Gemlik?
In the black table market Gemlik became the standard, backed by geographical indication and Marmara's processing infrastructure. Uslu stayed tied to Akhisar: a strong local processing tradition, but no national brand.
Its 21% oil also limits dual use; Uslu is essentially a table variety, and its value lies in size and flesh ratio.
In short
Uslu is Akhisar's black table variety: 280 fruits per kilo, 85% flesh, 21% oil. Slightly larger and fleshier than Gemlik, yet it never became a national brand. Conserving it as a regional asset matters for varietal diversity.
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