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Çorum Üyük Sarımsağı (Üyük Garlic)

Geographical Indicationurun

Çorum Üyük Sarımsağı is a garlic (Allium sativum L.) grown in Üyük, a village in the Merkez (central) district of Çorum province in north-central Turkey. According to the registration certificate issued by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TÜRKPATENT), it is produced in the village from ancestral (landrace) seed using traditional methods: each year, farmers set aside mature, large, plump and sound cloves from their own previous crop and plant them as seed. The certificate notes that this long-running cycle has preserved the garlic’s genetic make-up.

Geographical indication

The garlic was registered by TÜRKPATENT as a mark of origin (mahreç işareti) on 6 October 2026, registration no. 1906, following an application filed by the Çorum Commodity Exchange (Çorum Ticaret Borsası) on 13 January 2025 (file no. C2025/000011). Under Industrial Property Law No. 6769, protection runs from the application date. The geographical area is “Üyük village, Merkez district, Çorum province”. Every production stage must take place in the village, including the keeping of seed cloves and their transfer to the following seasons, field work, drying, bunching, storage and packaging. The name “Çorum Üyük Sarımsağı” and the mark-of-origin emblem appear on the product or its packaging.

In TÜRKPATENT’s records, the only other geographical indication registered by the Çorum Commodity Exchange is Çorum Leblebisi (2002). The exchange’s chairman, Yılmaz Kaya, told Anadolu Agency that Üyük garlic was their second registration after leblebi (roasted chickpeas).

The application dossier was prepared under the “Çorum Coğrafi İşaretli Ürünlerle Gelişiyor” project (“Çorum develops with geographical indication products”), whose beneficiary is the Çorum Governorship and which was supported by the Central Black Sea Development Agency (OKA) through its Technical Support Programme for Tourism Development. According to a Governorship announcement dated 13 November 2024, the Governorship’s EU and Foreign Relations Office, the OKA Çorum provincial coordination office and the Çorum Commodity Exchange visited the village to examine the registration process. OKA states that the tests and analyses needed to back the dossier with scientific data were carried out in cooperation with Hitit University’s Scientific and Technical Application and Research Centre (HÜBTUAM).

Distinctive features

The certificate describes the garlic as follows:

  • The bulb skin is white, the clove skin light purple and pink, and the clove flesh cream to yellow. The certificate describes the product as having a long shelf life.
  • Bulbs are wrapped in 5-12 protective skins and carry 10-15 cloves on average, arranged irregularly. The bulb is oval in cross-section and broadly elliptical lengthwise.
  • Depending on growing conditions, bulbs weigh 20-75 g and measure about 30-75 mm across; cloves weigh 2-5 g, with a diameter of 13-15 mm.
  • The plant does not form a flower stalk, and no flower head develops at maturity.

The certificate also gives measured ranges, in a table, for sucrose, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, caffeic acid, vanillin and taxifolin, and for calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, sodium, manganese, zinc and copper.

Where it grows

According to the certificate, the area lies at roughly 750-850 m above sea level and has a continental climate with hot, dry summers and cold winters. Winter minimums falling to -10 °C meet the cloves’ need for chilling (vernalisation); spring averages of 10-18 °C suit growth, and summer temperatures of 30-35 °C support the ripening of the bulbs. The village soil is neutral to slightly alkaline (pH 6.2-7.8) and moderately calcareous, with no salinity at a level harmful to plant growth. The certificate states that the soil’s adequate potassium plays a decisive role in clove size, shelf life and aroma.

According to an Anadolu Agency report from November 2026, garlic is grown on about 1,000 decares (some 100 hectares) in the village, which lies 15 kilometres from the city centre. In the same report the village headman (muhtar), Ali Yalvaç, said that villagers have grown garlic from ancestral seed for 50 years, that yields reach up to 1,300 kg per decare, and that the crop is mostly sold wholesale.

How it is grown

The production method set out in the certificate consists of these stages:

  • Soil preparation: In February-March the land is deep-ploughed with a plough, disc harrow and leveller, and the rows are marked out.
  • Planting and fertilising: In October-November each clove is planted unpeeled, tip up and visible, 5 cm deep, with 20-40 cm between rows and 5-10 cm within rows. About 50 kg of DAP fertiliser per decare is applied at planting; well-rotted manure, compost or green manure may also be used.
  • Irrigation and care: The soil is watered lightly right after planting and 1-4 times during the growing season, depending on the weather. Overwatering is avoided because excess moisture causes root rot. Weeds are controlled by hoeing and with pesticides that comply with the relevant regulations; straw, leaves or grass clippings may be used as mulch.
  • Harvest and drying: Harvest is by hand or machine in July-September, when the leaves turn yellow and begin to dry. The bulbs are lifted with their fine roots so that they do not break off, then dried for about 2-4 weeks in a sunny, airy place.
  • Bunching: The stems are left about 15-20 cm long. Depending on size, about 13-15 bulbs are lined up with the heads visible and the stems facing the same way, and tied with a soft cord of cotton, hemp or similar material about 50-60 cm long.
  • Storage and seed: The garlic is kept in a cool, dry, dark place at 0-10 °C and below 60% humidity. For seed, mature, large and sound bulbs are chosen and split into cloves; healthy, firm cloves are kept in their skins in a cool (15-20 °C), dry, dark and well-ventilated place, in breathable materials such as cloth sacks, baskets, straw matting or paper.
  • Rotation: Garlic returns to the same field only after at least three years; in between, legumes, root and leafy vegetables, or crops such as tomatoes and peppers may be grown.

According to the certificate, the garlic first reaches the market in July and may be sold in bunches tied by the stems or loose, packed in mesh bags, cardboard boxes or plastic crates. The certificate gives a storage life of 6-9 months depending on conditions. Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Yılmaz Kaya said the garlic keeps for about a year, while a producer in the village put its shelf life at roughly 10-11 months, until the new crop comes in. The same report says that farmers plough and prepare the land each year in September-October and that the garlic ripens after about ten months of care.

Inspection

Under the certificate, inspections are coordinated by the Çorum Commodity Exchange and carried out by a three-member body made up of one expert each from the exchange, the Çorum Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, and Hitit University’s Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts. Inspections take place once a year as a rule, and at any time when needed or following a complaint. They check the growing area, the production method, harvest, storage and preservation conditions, the garlic’s physical (and if necessary chemical) characteristics, and the correct use of the name and emblem.

For Çorum’s other registered products, see Geographical Indication Products of Çorum.

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