The Balearic cuisine has never been appreciated enough. Some say that it’s missing a certain refinement. Since the Balearic cuisine originates from the small countryside villages and fishermen towns, it generally uses many fresh and abundant ingredients. These ingredients always guarantee a nice presentation of the dishes and an expert of good food will never find any defects. According to the Mediterranean diet, the Balearic cuisine is less greasy than traditional dishes from the Spanish inlands. Also the variety of dishes and different ways to prepare them is very wide. Firstly, because it combines seafood with ingredients from the countryside, but also because of some traditional influences from African, Oriental and other European countries that have left their trails on the Balearic islands in the past. The intercultural history of the Balearic islands is to be rediscovered within the traditional dishes. Without a doubt you will find the baroque characteristics of this creative mixture, above all in the combination of sweet and salty that characterizes the typical Balearic gastronomy.
Specialties
The particular character of the Balearic specialties comes from two essential ingredients: Olive oil and lard. The numerous olive trees on Majorca produce a very aromatic oil and the traditionally Majorcan lard is often used for the typical stuffed specialty called “Embutido”. Another similar product that one simply has to try when visiting Majorca is “la Sobrada Artesana” made of pork mixed and spiced up with sweet pepper.
Everybody in Spain knows about the famous soups from the Balearic islands. Las sopes mallorquines are made from vegetables and brown bread. On Menorca, the typical soups are prepared in a ceramic kettle on low fire. One has to try the Menorca lobster stew or that of fish, which is more widely available. In the inlands el Oliaigo, with oil, water, garlic and tomato is a very refreshing soup.
Most meat dishes are prepared with pork or lamb of excellent quality and usually on the traditional way. Beef is generally of lesser quality on the islands, because the meet isn’t as juicy and tasty as one would hope.
The best time to make a culinary trip to the Balearics is the summer when fruits and vegetables are from the best quality. The tomatoes, courgettes, eggplants, beans and onions that are cultivated on the islands are great ingredients for many dishes. Vegetables are used in many dishes and in many combinations with meat and fish.
Cheese and Desserts
The fresh sheep cheese with honey and nuts has a delicious taste during spring. If you’re staying on Menorca you have to taste the cheese of Maó. This cheese is listed among the best of Europe ever since the Italians took it with them to the mainland in the 15th century. The sheep cheese from Formentera is also of excellent quality. All the cheeses on the Balearics are still made traditionally by hand.
The desserts on the Balearics aren’t only eaten after the meal. The tasty pastries are very popular during the religious festivities. On Menorca for example the people eat “Greixeres” for Carnival, “Formatjades” for Setmana Santa (holy week), chocolate and “ensaimada” for patron celebrations, “bunyols amb arrop” with honey for All Saints and “tortades, turrones and cucussó” for Christmas.
On Ibiza they prepare “Salsa de Nadal” for Christmas, this is made from almonds, saffron, broth, eggs, nails, nutmeg, cinnamon branches and sugar. For Setmana Santa the “Flaó” is the traditional dessert, a cakel of fresh cheese, flour, oil, anis and farthing. In June the Ibicencos prepare their “macarrons de Sant Joan”, a pudding based on pasta. “Orelletes” is another Ibiza dessert consisting of fried pasta rings.
Majorca is known for the desserts with Arabic and Jewish features. Besides that many restaurants serve the typical “crespells” and “el gató” of almonds, which goes great with ice cream. Furthermore there is the “pa de figa” prepared with roasted almonds, white dry figs, farthing, anis and muscatel; all of this served in fig tree leafs. The best know dessert, however, is the ensaimada, a cake made out of flour, water, sugar, eggs, and yeast. This cake is usually eaten as lunch, but also often as a dessert.
Menorca and Mayonnaise
Maó has a place in culinary history as the eighteenth-century birthplace of mayonnaise (mahonesa). Various legends, all of them involving the French, claim to identify its inventor: take your pick from the chef of the French commander besieging Maó; a peasant woman dressing a salad for another French general; or a housekeeper disguising rancid meat from the taste buds of a French officer. The French also changed the way the Menorcans bake their bread, while the British started the dairy industry and encouraged the roasting of meat.
Wines and Liquors
The 1530 hectares of vineyards on the Balearic Islands have a modest wine production of about 35000 hl yearly. 7500 hl has a denomination of origin. On Majorca some excellent wines, like de Pla y Llevant, Felanitx and Binissalem are produced, and the quality of many other wines is improving every year. Not marked with a denomination of origin, but a very good wine is the Finca Son Bordils Negre of 1999, it got a 8.9 out of 10 in the the Campsa wine guide of 2001.Several bodegas on Ibiza and Formentera also have some outstanding wine stocks. On Menorca you can try some of the widely appreciated gins or liquors. The Menorca gin is the islands heritage from the time of British occupation. It is made out of wine alcohol instead of alcohol from wheat, and flavored with gin berries.
The typical appetizers on the islands are anis drinks. “El Palo” from Ibiza and Majorca is usually mixed with siphon or soda water. The fruit liquors from Menorca are good for the stomach. Ibiza distilleries produce some great herbal liquor, often mixed with flavors from different Formentera and Ibiza plants. These drinks are delicious with some ice cubes during the warm and sunny afternoons on the islands.
