Local and typical products of Mallorca

+Mallorca: the magazine of Mallorca

More than sun and beach..

Mayonnaise

The history of mayonnaise begins in 1756, although some historians point out that it was already present in Balear cooking in the 16th Century. It was in this year that the Duke of Richelieu, the nephew of the famous cardinal, seized control of Maó snatching the...

Pottery Craftsmanship

The clay work from the so-called potteries is one of the most vibrant artisan activities in Mallorca, producing objects for everyday use in Mallorcan cuisine as well as other items. Clay objects can be found in many places across the island, but most of them are...

Flor d’Ametler, the fragrance of Mallorca

There are many perfumes on the market, but only one evokes the true Mallorca. Flor d’Ametler perfume is made from the blossom of a species typical to Mallorca, the almond tree. A traditional fragrance produced by hand, its recipe is a closely-guarded family secret. ...

The Mallorcan dances of the “Cavallets”

The Mallorcan dances of the “Cavallets” (little horses) are related to the Corpus Christi processions of fifteenth century Barcelona, where the dances formed part of the interludes of the martyrdom of San Sebastian. It is a representation...

Miquel Gelabert wines, experts in wine

The Vins Miquel Gelabert winery, located in Manacor, has been producing wines for the past 25 years and, today, is one of the most recognised brands in Mallorca. The company makes red, white, rosé and sweet wines. It is the company which uses the most types of grape...

Capers, an essential ingredient in the gastronomy of the Illes

The caper is neither a fruit nor a seed. Tàperes (capers) are an essential condiment for many dishes in the cuisine of the Balearics. These are a traditional product of the Mallorcan countryside, and their use in cooking had already been experimented by the Greeks and...

Floreres, exclusive handicraft in Mallorca

Floreres are a typical and exclusive handicraft in Mallorca. Purely decorative they consist of a wooden base on which is constructed an artificial flower arrangement, covered with a glass dome. Exclusive handicraft in Mallorca The technique used is generalised. With...

The Ramellet tomato

Mallorca has its own native variety of tomato known as the ramellet tomato, which is traditionally sown onto string and hung to prolong its preservation. History (Lycopersicon-Esculentum-Mill) The tomato is of Mexican origin and was introduced by Spanish conquerors in...

The Llaüt, cultural heritage

The ‘llaüt’ is the traditional trawl fishing vessel of the Balearic Islands, although nowadays it is more a piece of craftsmanship whose use is reserved to enthusiasts and its presence within the Mallorcan fleet is essentially nominal. It is a Latin sail...

Lime Ovens and the “Limers”

A lime oven is a traditional Mallorcan construction, into which calcareous stones are heaped in order to obtain the lime. The process consisted of maintaining the stone at a temperature of around 1000 to 1200ºC for a period of ten or twelve days, using...

The spectacle of mallorcan almond trees

Between January and February, the blossom on the almond trees covers the Mallorcan countryside with an impressive white blanket. It is an image that has been recreated in paintings, novels and photographs throughout history. The phenomenon is widespread across the...

Herb liqueur of Mallorca

There are three kinds of herb liqueur: sweet, semidry and dry, depending on their content of anisette and liquor. Sweet liquors contain three parts of anisette and one part of liquor (such as Cazalla). The semidry ones have a 50/50 proportion. Dry liquors contain only...

Mallorca ceramics, tradition and modernity

Ceràmiques Mallorca, begins new era of tradition and modernity. Ceramic art has a long tradition on the Balearic Islands, and Ceràmiques Mallorca is nowadays one of its biggest proponents. It was founded back in 1947 under the leadership of Pere Bennàsar...

The Majorca Pla i Llevant Designation of Origin

Pla i Llevant (The Plain and Eastern Mallorca): The area covered by the Pla i Llevant Designation of Origin is one of Mallorca’s most traditional vine-growing and wine-producing areas, because vines have been grown here since the island’s domination by the Romans. ...

Es Verger, ecologic oil and wine from Mallorca

Es Verger is a family-owned company which has been producing high-quality wine and oil since 2001. It produces four types of wine: three red ones: Ses Marjades, Els Rojals and Pinot Noir, and one sweet white wine, Fita del Ram. Grapes For making Ses Marjades, grapes...

Aubocassa Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the taste of Mallorcan countryside

Aubocassa oil, under the Protected Designation of Origin, “Oli de Mallorca”, is cultivated on the Albocàsser estate, in Manacor. It is greeny-yellow in colour and opaque, since it is an unfiltered oil. These characteristics make this oil an exquisite-tasting product:...

Mallorca’s Ensaimada

Mallorca’s Ensaimada is a baked, fermented dough, made with flour, water, sugar, eggs, sough dough and lard. It is an extremely traditional pastry in Mallorca. Documents dating back to the 17th century contain the first written references to the Ensaimada de Mallorca....

Mallorcan Wine, a rising sector

The Macià Batle wine cellars are located in Santa Maria del Camí, in the heart of Mallorca. The company began its activity in 1856 and is now one of the island’s most established wine cellars. Macià Batle Wine Macià Batle Wine Its wines, sold under the...

The Mallorcan “Xeremies”

The Mallorcan “Xeremies” or “Xeremia” is an instrument pertaining to the bagpipe family and is the instrument that gives the “xeremiers” group its name. Xeremia This bagpipe consists of a leather pouch where the air accumulates and is then released through three...

Verderol oil, a fine example of agriculture and preservation

Verderol oil is the juice from olives that grow just a few kilometres from Palma. The Olive trees are cared for using environmental friendly techniques and produce a delicious crop, an extra virgin olive oil with Majorcan designation of origin. Extra virgin...

The José L. Ferrer winery

Since 1931, the José Luis Ferrer winery has produced some of the island's best wines within the Binissalem designation of origin. Their red Reserve, made from Mantonegro and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, is one of the favourites of the region. José L. Ferrer Reserva wine...

The Ocarina

This is an instrument of the globular flute family and has a beaked mouthpiece. It is egg-shaped, made out of clay and has a mouthpiece that joins the whistle to its side; there are eight finger holes. The more recent history of the Ocarina can be traced to the...

Vins Can Coleto is spreading its best wines across Mallorca

Mallorca is established as the land of wines and Vins Can Coleto, a winery located in Petra, is an exact reflection of that. The company was launched in 2000 led by its founder, Miquel Jaume Horrach. It currently offers seven types of organic wine, which...

Galmés i Ribot, working the land with love and respect

Finca Rotes dels Cavallers belongs to the Galmés Ribot family, but way back in the 17th century it belonged to the mythical Comte Mal (Count Evil) who rented it out to his knights so they could cultivate the vineyard and produce wine, evidence of the long established...

Solivellas and Oli s’Illa olive oils, the intensity and taste of Mallorca

The Solivellas and Oli s’Illa extra virgin olive oils, both registered under the Oil of Mallorca Denomination of Origin, offer the palate a balanced oil which retains all the intensity and flavour of the olive itself. The Solivellas family harvests and processes...

Ordinas-Llucmajor Cutler’s

This craft workshop is dedicated to the manufacture of the typical Mallorcan penknives with ram’s horn handle and Mallorcan kitchen knives. Here, all manner of cutting tools related to the islands' rural existence are manufactured, such as handsaws, sheep-shears,...

Son Mut Nou

In the heart of the Marina de Llucmajor, Mallorca, stands the Son Mut Nou Finca, here the earth is dry and rain is a rare commodity, fig trees make the most of the dryness and extract what they need from the dry ground and clay to produce an even more tasty fruit. It...

Majorcan sobrasada

Embedded with protected geographical indication. Raw cured meat product, made with selected pork meat, minced and seasoned with paprika, salt and spices stuffed into casings and mature slowly and carefully as the experience from generation to generation. The taste is...

Palo Liquor

Palo is an exquisite liqueur which originated in the 16th and 17th Centuries, when there was a lot of swampland in Majorca and the mosquitoes spread the terrible disease of malaria. To combat it, they used two plants, quina calisaia (cinchona) and genciana (gentian)...

Llengües fabric: Mediterranean ikats

Mallorca’s looms produce what are probably the last ikats in Europe. Ikat is a dyeing and fabric weaving technique. The name the llengües fabric receives in Mallorca is robes de llengües, a traditional fabric with a long history on the island. This technique forms a...

Obra de llatra

"Obra de llatra" is an artisanal product made from the leaves of the dwarf fan palm (chamaerops humilis), the only palm native to Europe that is commonly found in the Mediterranean. The process of treating the leaves starts with their harvest, in or around the month...

The DO Binissalem Majorca

THE DO BINISSALEM MAJORCA. In Mallorca, and in the Mediterranean, there can be no festival without wine. Wine is present in religion, celebrations and at mealtimes. Wine has sculpted our landscape, our architecture and our culture. DO BInissalem The Binissalem...

The “Rondaies Mallorquines” are traditional stories of the island of Mallorca

The “Rondaies Mallorquines” are traditional stories of the island of Mallorca, which were passed on orally from the parents to their children. They appeared in written form from Mossèn Antoni Maria Alcover i Sureda’s compliations, who published them from 1880 onwards...

PredioSon Quint, the liquid gold of the Serra de Tramuntana

The extra virgin olive oil with Guarantee of Origin, Son Quint Farmhouse is an exclusive product with its own personality. It has been produced since 1998 in the Son Quint estate (Esporles), in the Serra de Tramuntana. Predio Son Quint oil comes from three types of...

“Molins” Windmills and watermills

Windmills and watermills were all over the island. Nowadays they have lost their original function, but they are of great value as heritage, having witnessed the economic, social and cultural past of Majorca. On Majorca they were used to grind flour (flour...

Bodegas Suau presents ‘Suau Gin’, Mallorca’s first premium gin

Bodegas Suau launched its new ‘Suau Gin’, the island’s first premium gin. It is produced in four distillations from Mallorcan ingredients: oranges, lemons and almonds are blended with juniper berries, coriander, angelica from Saxony and Belgium, and orris and...

Especias Crespí boosts the quality of their “tap de cortí” sweet pepper

The greater antioxidant power of Tap de Cortí paprika is the key element to preserve the Mallorcan sobrasada. This sweet paprika, which does not make dishes bitter, also provides the characteristic orange-red color of the sobrasada. Due to the use of other...

The Llonguet, a bread roll with identity

From a bread roll baked just for the wealthy to a symbol of the city of Palma The llonguet is a bread roll that has its own identity and history, a history that dates back to the days of the archduke Lluís Salvador. It seems to have a French origin, and from there it...

The “Boleros i Copeos Mallorquins”, traditional folk dance in Mallorca

The “ball de bot”, also known as traditional or folk dance in Mallorca, is made up of a series of dances. It is very commonly referred to by the name of one of the dances which comprise it. These are: the bolero (this month’s report), the...

Mallorca retains the largest collection of flour windmills in Europe

Modern economy has relegated them to a mere onlooker role, but they represent high ethnological value: they are the flour windmills that were used not many decades ago to mill the grain and produce flour. Some 895 flour windmills have been counted on the island,...

The grape harvest in Mallorca

Mallorca’s grape harvest tends to begin in September, even though some years, if the temperatures are very high, it can be as early as August. High temperatures accelerate the ripening process, this implies an increase in the alcohol level as well as a loss...

Massive increase in production of Mallorcan paprika thanks to Especias Crespí

The “tap de corti” pimenton is one of Especias Crespí’s star products; they are a well known, well established company based in the Son Castelló industrial estate. Mallorcan paprika has its own organoleptic properties, like higher quantities of vitamin C and sugars. ...

Glass Blowing

The process used in Majorca to make handcrafted glass objects, or at least the most common process, is glass blowing, the origins of which date back to the second century. Blowing process Up until then, glass artefacts were fashioned by using sand or clay moulds in...

Mallorcan embroidery

The mallorcan-embroidery stitch is part of the history of Majorca’s traditional embroidery. The mallorcan-embroidery is a free-stitch embroidery technique, as it is done directly on top of the fabric. The embroidery is present on clothes and house linen. Examples from...