In Majorca, the soups are most popular. There are two kinds: clear soups, which may be stock from fish, stew or meat, and
the truly Majorca ones, which are almost solid or dry and are hard to find today. They are probably based on the old cabbage
soup and are the best dish in a tame, peaceful rural community of agriculture. They consist of vegetables, ie mainly cabbage,
and slices of bread soaked in stock, apart from paprika, tomato, garlic, etc. The result can be compared to a pudding: light, mild and very juicy.
There is also a sauce which has become internationally famous and which may have been invented on the island, to be more precise, in Menorca, ie mayonnaise.
It must also be pointed out that the cuisine of the three main islands, ie Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza, has its own characteristics in each case within a similar
framework. Despite their small surface area, researchers have collected 600 recipes in these islands. This is enough to give an idea of their rich cuisine.
After the soups, pork comes next. With it an endless number of different dishes is prepared, especially the roasts. It is also prepared with a stuffing, which is
an incredible mixture of pork liver with eggs, bread, spices, apples and plums. Apart from that, there is the most famous pork product of the islands which is
called sobrasada and which has a soft texture and is orange-coloured from the paprika.
The best vegetable dish is el tumbet, which is a kind of cake with a layer of potato and another of lightly fried aubergine, all of which is covered
with tomato sauce and peppers and then boiled for a little while. The aubergine, which is very commonly used in this cuisine, is often stuffed with meat or fish and then put in the oven.
Among the recipes with eggs, the dish called huevos al estilo Sóller is outstanding. They are fried on sobrasada (see above) and covered with a
complicated vegetable and milk sauce. And then there is the wonderful stuffed chicken with a pomegranate sauce, breast of turkey with an almond sauce, and turtle dove
with chestnuts, which are splendid examples of the Majorca tendency of using sweet flavours with main dishes. As for desserts and pastry, the best is la ensaimada,
delicate puff pastry which is difficult to make and which is prepared with lard, the same as the numerous and varied crusted pies.
The most important dishes in the Island of Menorca are made with fish and seafood, which are plentiful and of great quality along these coasts. La caldereta de langosta
(a lobster dish) is the most outstanding. It consists of pieces of lobster as well as pepper, onion, tomato, garlic and herb liqueur. Other typical stews in the island are
rice with lobster, tuna with mayonnaise, Menorca partridge and baked mutton with sobrasada.
In Ibiza the fish dishes predominate as well: la burrida de ratjada, which is boiled skate seasoned with ground almonds, Ibiza lobster with squid and herb liqueur,
el guisat de marisc, a tasty stew made with a variety of fish and seafood. Also outstanding is the cheese from Mahón.
And many different types of coques are prepared in the Balearics. They are like Catalan pastry (rectangular cakes covered with chopped vegetables, fish or minced meat) and are made all over the Balearic Islands.
Only Majorca produces wine, but other drinks are more interesting in these islands: the gin from Menorca, of English origin, with which the very popular
pellofas are prepared; and the herb liqueur of Ibiza which is very strong and should be watered down with ice.
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