ULTIMATE GUIDE Culinary Mallorca

Talking of Mediterranean cuisine, your first thought might be: fish and seafood. But this is only part of the story. The delicacies of the sea play a major role in the coastal areas with local population of fishermen. Further inland, we are talking about no more than a few kilometres here, the traditional Mallorcan way of cooking has always been a rural one with an emphasis on the hearty and the savory – kohl and legumes as well as pork and rabbit being high on the Mallorquin housewives shopping lists. As most families in the countryside own their own huerto or vegetable garden, and most others buy their vegetables and other foodstuffs fresh from the market, recipes for dishes vary depending on what is in season.

Variation seems to be the basic theme of the Mallorcan way of eating in a more general way, too: The island has always been a place of many influences. In ancient times, it was the Romans, Moors and North Africans who brought their foods and flavours, and the locals did not only copy them, but adapted them to make them their own. Of course, the Catalans and Spanish mainlanders left their traces, too. And more recently, it has been Mallorca's lively international Expat scene with their diversity of culinary customs who have inspired chefs to leave well-trodden paths and tickle every foodie's taste buds with surprising new creations. The truth is that Mallorca's cuisine was never set in stone. Yes, it is traditional. But it can also be creative and new and astonishingly delicate, too.

Read the articles of this ULTIMATE GUIDE to find out everything you need to know about Mallorcan ways of eating.