Mallorcan Cuisine

Mallorcan cuisine is Mediterranean in the best sense: olive oil, fresh vegetables, fish, and seafood form the basis. However, unlike the light cuisine of the Greek islands, the Mallorcan tradition is surprisingly hearty and pork-heavy — a legacy of peasant self-sufficiency and the "Matances," the traditional home slaughtering in winter.

The Cornerstones

Olive oil from the Tramuntana (some from 1000-year-old trees), bread as an indispensable side dish, almonds (for sweets and sauces), tomatoes (the small "ramellet" tomatoes hang in clusters on many house facades), garlic, and paprika — these are the ingredients that can be found in almost every dish.

Mallorcan cuisine is thoroughly seasonal: In spring, artichokes and fresh broad beans (faves) dominate, in summer tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants (the basis for Tumbet), in autumn mushrooms and figs, in winter cabbage and pork. This seasonality is not a trend but a lived tradition — and one reason why the food at the island market tastes better than in the tourist restaurant on the promenade.

The farm-to-table philosophy was already everyday life in Mallorca before it became a hype in Berlin restaurants. Many restaurants, especially inland, source their vegetables from their own garden, their meat from the neighboring farmer, their wine from the nearby bodega. The growing number of agrotourism businesses combines this tradition with upscale travel.