Characteristic products and terroirs
Balearic cuisine is as much about local produce as it is about seafood. While there are typical local specialties on each island, certain products can be found throughout the archipelago. Such is the case of the sobrasadaa pork sausage emblematic of the Balearic Islands. Red in color, it is flavored with paprika - sweet or hot - and aromatic herbs (thyme, oregano, etc.). Another embutido - the Catalan term for sausage - is the camallot (also called camaiot, camot or varia negra, depending on the island) is made from pork meat, coarsely or coarsely minced with blood, spices (black pepper, paprika, aniseed) and salt. This stuffing is placed inside the skin of the pig's thigh, then sewn, cooked and finally dried. Finally, the butifarrones are small sausages similar to Catalan butifarras, containing a mixture of meat, offal and pig's blood, finely spiced.
These sausages were often prepared in winter during the mantaça, a major event in the life of the islanders when the pig was slaughtered. The whole animal was used, and this ritual traditionally brought families and neighbors together to prepare the various cuts of pork. Certain offal, such as the liver - very fragile - was cooked immediately with onions and a few winter vegetables. This charcuterie is regularly presented in the form of fiambres - meaning " English plates" - with cheese, generally tommes made from cow's or goat's milk.
The peix sec or dried fish, is one of Formentera and Ibiza's oldest culinary specialties. Produced for centuries using an artisanal process, this product - generally made from cartilaginous fish such as skate - is first bathed in a highly concentrated brine before being dried by the wind and sun. While vegetables and olive oil are abundant in the local cuisine, the island of Formentera produces very few foodstuffs due to its almost arid nature and an economy largely dedicated to tourism. Es Morer honey is produced by hand, and you can sample the island's excellent thyme and rosemary honey.
A real local curiosity, the liquid salt produced in Formentera's saltworks is gradually appearing in delicatessens. This natural liquid is extracted before the salt begins its crystallization process. It is then filtered and bottled. It is usually available as a spray. Naturally rich in minerals and trace elements, Formentera's liquid salt, with its iodized flavor, stands out for its low sodium content, known to promote cardiovascular disease.
The classics of Balearic cuisine
Spanish culture obliges, and tapas play an important role in the region. Common to the whole archipelago, but also to Catalonia, the famous pa amb oli consists of pieces of bread soaked in olive oil, then rubbed with garlic and tomato. Other tapas include charcuterie, cheese, vegetables in oil and seafood. Not forgetting the caracoles con sobrasadasnails simmered with the famous paprika sausage. While there is much debate as to the origin of mayonnaise and its garlicky counterpart, aioli, the most conclusive sources describe this sauce as originating in the Balearic Islands. El allioli is prepared throughout the region and served as a starter with bread.
Savoury pastries are also available, the most common of which are cocas, a type of local brioche pizza. After being brushed with garlicky olive oil, they can be topped with peppers (amb pebres), a tomato-onion-pepper mixture (amb trempó), spinach, pine nuts and dried raisins (d'espinacs), spicy sausage (con sobrassada) or sardines (amb pinxes). Alternatively, try theensalada payesaa salad of peppers, tomatoes, dry bread and dried fish. The dry bread used is usually bescuit, a type of highly baked bread with a hard texture similar to rusk.
Similar to ratatouille, the tumbet is a mixture of eggplants, potatoes, red peppers and tomato sauce. The huevos fritos al estilo de Sóller are fried eggs on a leek fondue with sobrasada. The sofrit pagès is a solid peasant stew combining chicken, lamb, sobrasada and potatoes, flavored with a generous amount of garlic, parsley and bay leaf. In Formentera, saffron is also added. Frito de matanzas is a pork fricassee (rib, tenderloin, liver) with potatoes and chili pepper. salsamossona, or Christmas sauce, is a sauce made with almonds and hazelnuts that accompanies meat and fish.
Seafood is used extensively, and you can try the burrida de ratjadapoached skate served with sofrito (tomato sauce with peppers and garlic) and picada, a preparation of crushed almonds with parsley and chilli. On Formentera, one of the must-try dishes is the frito de pulpoa local version of the frit mallorquí made with octopus. You can also try calamar a la brutasquid cooked in its own ink with tomato, onion and sobressada. The astonishing bogavante con patatas y huevos fritos is a recipe for poached lobster with potatoes and fried eggs.
Desserts and coffee
The Balearic Islands' best-known pastry is probably theensaïmada, a spiral-shaped sweet pastry eaten at breakfast time. Initially filled with butter, it was replaced by lard after the Reconquista, as an indication of the fervor of Jewish and Muslim converts to Christianity. The greixonera is a pudding made with ensaimada, flavored with lemon and cinnamon. Or the coca de patata is a potato-based brioche, sometimes embellished with chocolate.
And don't forget flaó, a typical local cake made with fresh sheep's milk cheese, flavored with aniseed and mint. Originally eaten at Easter, it is now a year-round staple. Other desserts traditionally made at the same time include robiols, flaky turnovers filled with sweet fromage frais or jam. As for crespells, shortbread flavored with orange and lemon, they are prepared for Holy Week. A Menorcan must-have carquinyols are crunchy, square-shaped almond cookies.
The coffee is normally black. Con leche is coffee with hot milk ("amb llet" in Catalan). Café cortado is espresso cut with cold milk. It can be either sobre (powdered) or maquina (espresso). El carajillo is a coffee with a dash of rum, cognac or other local liqueur.
Wines, beers and liquors
Although the Balearic archipelago is not Spain's most famous wine-growing region, Formentera does boast a tiny vineyard known as "Vi de la terra de Formentera", which has held a Denominación de Origen since 2004. Vines have been cultivated on the island since ancient times. Over time, vines have become a mainstay of Formentera's agriculture. Today, it occupies 12% of the island's cultivated farmland. Monastrell, the grape variety traditionally grown on Formentera, dominates production. There are two vineyards on the island: Cap de Barbaria, located on the eponymous cape, and Terramoll, on the heights of La Mola. Formentera's grape varieties thrive on sandy soil, and are found all over the island. Vines have adapted perfectly to the Mediterranean climate of the southernmost of the Balearic Islands. Formentera wines are characterized by their dense purple color and fruity aroma.
As for beer, you'll mainly find the Catalan brand Estrella, as well as a number of craft beers such as Isleña, La Payesa and Ibosim (on Ibiza) and Sa Bona Birra and Grahame Pearce Sant Climent (on Menorca). Similar to our panaché, the clara is a blend of beer and lemon Schweppes. We'll also try Cervesa Illa craft beer (Menorca's oldest). Natural and preservative-free, it is considered one of the six best craft beers by the Guía Repsol (a Spanish version of the Michelin Guide).
Herbal liqueurs or hierbas are highly prized, and each island produces its own. Often prepared by hand, their alcohol content varies from around 20 to 30°. Native to Formentera and Ibiza, the frígola is a liqueur scented with thyme leaves and flowers. Finally, the hierbas ibicencas is a popular, lightly aniseed-flavored spirit that has been handcrafted for centuries. Despite its name, this spirit is said to have been invented on Formentera, where the first distillery was set up around 1880. The story goes that a fisherman went all the way to Barcelona to unearth the secrets of the still and brought them back to his island, Formentera. The factory was later moved to Ibiza, where it remains to this day.
The recipe, which varies from household to household, can include up to 28 different plants, but almost always contains rosemary, thyme, mint, lavender, fennel, verbena, sage, juniper, orange and lemon peel. These numerous herbs are distilled for 18 hours in copper stills, then macerated in alcohol for a fortnight. The preparation is then infused in boiling water before being cooled. Amber in color, its alcohol content varies between 24 and 38°. It is a digestif generally consumed at the end of a meal. Since 1997, this digestif has benefited from a Protected Geographical Denomination. The inevitable chupito is the name of the small glass of liqueur often offered by the house after dinner.
