.Turkish Olive Oil
Turkey offers the perfect climate for olives. Turns
out, olives were actually first cultivated around
6,000 years ago in the Asia Minor or Anatolia
region, which comprises what is now modern-day
Turkey. So the area and its people are no
strangers to olive oil. In fact, olive oil is absolutely
essential in Turkish cuisine (and the
Mediterranean diet in general) and is used in
salads, for frying, in recipes like şakşuka and
dolma, and in dishes alongside wide variety of
vegetables such as artichokes, Jerusalem
artichokes, broad beans, and eggplant. Olives are
also commonly eaten at breakfast in Turkey!
Although it’s pretty underrated, high-quality
Turkish olive oil is beginning to garner praise from
olive oil pros as its quality has been improving
over the years. Here, we discuss what makes it
unique, some common Turkish olive varieties, and
the best ways to use Turkish olive oil in your home
cooking
Types of Olives Used in Turkish Olive Oil
• Gemlik: Gemlik olives are widely grown in Turkey, especially in the north.
These black olives have a high oil content, a mellow flavor, and pleasant
texture that makes them popular as a breakfast olive. They’re also widely
used in olive oil production.
• Domat: Domat olives are found throughout the Aegean region of eastern
Turkey. These olives are large and green, and commonly used for stuffing
with ingredients like garlic and cheeses. They also make a great olive for
oil production
• Memecik: Like Domat, Memecik olives are also found throughout the
Aegean region in eastern Turkey. These olives are green with a rich taste
due to their high oil content.
Sunflower Oil
Healthy, natural sunflower oil is produced
from oil type sunflower seeds. Sunflower oil
is light in taste and appearance and
supplies more Vitamin E than any other
vegetable oil. It is a combination of
monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats
with low saturated fat levels.
The versatility of this healthy oil is
recognized by cooks internationally.
Sunflower oil is valued for its light taste,
frying performance and health benefits.
There are two types of sunflower oil
available; linoleic and high oleic sunflower
oil. Both are developed with standard
breeding techniques. They differ in oleic
levels and each one offers unique
properties.
With two types of sunflower oil available,
sunflower oil meets the needs of consumer
and food manufacturers alike for a healthy
and high performance non-transgenic
vegetable oil.
