Aydın Çam Fıstığı

Aydın Çam Fıstığı is the shelled pine nut obtained from the seeds of Pinus pinea Lin. trees grown within the borders of Aydın province in the Aegean region of Turkey. The European Commission entered it in the Union register of protected designations of origin on 2 June 2025, by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1066, published in Official Journal L, 2025/1066. The application was submitted by Aydın Commodity Exchange (Aydın Ticaret Borsası), established 10 October 1956, headquartered in Efeler, Aydın. The Turkish domestic GI registration was published in the Official Geographical Indication and Traditional Product Name Bulletin of TÜRKPATENT No. 106, dated 2 August 2021.

The Koçarlı district of Aydın province accounts for the most intensive production, with some 10,000 hectares of pine trees. Trees up to 500 years old continue to bear fruit in the province. First harvest from planted seedlings begins after 14 to 15 years, when trees may have reached 10 metres in height.

What makes it distinct

Aydın Çam Fıstığı is distinguished from other Turkish pine nuts by its fatty acid composition and texture. It has lower monounsaturated fatty acid content and higher polyunsaturated fatty acid content — particularly linoleic acid — compared to pine nuts grown elsewhere in Turkey. Its texture is more crispy, and its body is less plump. The kernel is light to dark cream in colour, very pointed at the tip with a slightly dirty yellow colouring at the pointed end.

These characteristics are attributed to the specific climatic conditions of Aydın province: rainy winters, high summer temperatures, low summer relative humidity, and prevailing winds from both the east (Poyraz) and west (İmbat) that enhance pollination during the critical April-to-June flowering period. The province sits cooler than the Mediterranean region proper due to northern winds, and pine trees grow across a range of altitudes up to 860 metres, with harvesting spread across a long season as a result.

Physical and chemical properties

The following values are taken directly from the Single Document (OJ C/2025/778) and product specification (Ref. Ares(2025)474450):

Morphological properties:

• Colour: Light to dark cream; pointed tip slightly dirty yellow

• Shape: Very pointed at one end, elliptical at the other

• Length (mm): 12.4–14.2

• Width (mm): 4.1–6.1

• Weight of 100 pieces (g): 13.3–21.2

• Internal yield (%): 21.3–28.6

• Moisture (%): 3.9–5.6

• Ash (%): 3.7–6.5

• Smell: Slight pine scent

• Taste: Slightly oily

• Texture: Crispy

Protein and fatty acid composition:

• Protein (%): 30.3–39.6

• Palmitic acid C16:0 (%): 6.2–6.5

• Stearic acid C18:0 (%): 3.2–3.5

• Oleic acid C18:1 (%): 34.6–38.0

• Linoleic acid C18:2 (%): 47.2–51.0

• Linolenic acid C18:3 (%): 0.70–0.90

• Ecosatrienoic acid C20:3 (%): 1.5–1.8

• Total saturated fatty acids (%): 10.0–10.4

• Total unsaturated fatty acids (%): 89.0–89.6

• Total monounsaturated fatty acids (%): 35.4–37.2

• Total polyunsaturated fatty acids (%): 51.7–53.2

Production zone

Aydın Çam Fıstığı is produced within the administrative borders of Aydın province, which comprises 17 districts: Efeler, Bozdoğan, Buharkent, Çine, Germencik, İncirliova, Karacasu, Karpuzlu, Koçarlı, Köşk, Kuyucak, Kuşadası, Nazilli, Söke, Sultanhisar, Didim, and Yenipazar. The province borders İzmir to the north, Manisa to the northeast, Denizli to the east, Muğla to the south, and the Aegean Sea to the west.

The terrain is predominantly mountainous — approximately 64 percent mountains, 15 percent plateaus, and 21 percent plains. The Büyük Menderes valley runs east to west through the province, opening toward the sea. Pine trees grow on sandy soils and sun-exposed slopes, generally at altitudes of 0 to 600 metres, with some trees reaching up to 860 metres.

All stages of production — seedling cultivation, gardening, pruning, irrigation, fertilizing, harvesting, separation from pinecones and shells, and agricultural control — must take place within this geographical area.

Climate and growing conditions

Aydın province has a dominant Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and warm, rainy winters. Long-term records from 1941 to 2022 show an average annual temperature of 17.7°C, with the coldest month (February) averaging 8.1°C and the hottest month (July) reaching a monthly high average of 36.2°C. Average annual precipitation is 659.9 mm, concentrated in December and January, with July and August recording the least rainfall. Average daily sunshine hours are 6.5 per year, with peak sunshine in July and August.

Relative humidity rises to 75 percent in winter and falls below 50 percent in summer, with July and August the driest months. Wind is critical to production: Poyraz (easterly) and İmbat (westerly) prevailing winds increase pollination during the April-to-June flowering period, and in mountain villages breeze winds during flowering further enhance pollination. May to August sees the strongest winds at 1.6–1.8 m/s.

Pine trees in Aydın province can withstand short-term frosts down to -18°C.

Harvest and processing

Flowering in Aydın Çam Fıstığı occurs in April to June, but the fertilisation event does not occur until the following spring. The resulting cone develops over three years. One-year-old cones are locally called ülker; two-year-old cones are called kızıl göçmen-göçen; three-year-old cones, fully ripe and reddish-chestnut in colour, are harvested from January to April.

Cones are harvested by climbing the tree trunk using long metal ladders, then cutting cones with a special arc-shaped blade (keye) attached to a 3–6 metre wooden rod. Mechanical harvesting using trunk vibrators is also practised; fallen cones are then collected from the ground.

Separation of the kernel from cone and shell is carried out by traditional or modern methods. In the traditional method, cones are left in garden piles covered until June, dried under the sun until they open, and shelled nuts are collected by rake. In modern processing, cones are broken directly with a cone-crushing machine, shells are separated mechanically, and kernels are washed at 72°C, dried in plastic crates for three days, then passed through a brushing machine to remove membrane and bran, washed at 28–32°C, oven-dried at 80°C, and cooled to ambient temperature.

Aydın Çam Fıstığı harvested at the end of winter contains higher vegetable oil content than product collected earlier in the season.

Storage requires 0–4°C temperature and 60–70 percent relative humidity, for a maximum of six months.

Control and certification

Control is shared between two bodies named in the product specification:

• Aydın Commodity Exchange (Aydın Ticaret Borsası) — keeps records on producers, production areas, industrial facilities, processing, packaging and storage; performs secretariat and coordinating duties for the supervisory authority; ensures product tracking and traceability

• Republic of Turkey Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Aydın Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry — inspects compliance with the GI specification, verifying product characteristics, geographical origin, production method, and labelling requirements