Category Archives: Fruit

Oranges and Sunshine

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When we first came to Mallorca, it was one of our first ambitions to have a lemon tree in our garden. We pretty soon succeeded in planting our very own specimen.

Only much later we came to realize that the sweet aroma of orange blossoms was an equally important addition to our perfumed garden, if not much more so. You have to smell an orange tree in full bloom to know the fragrant smell; words alone can’t describe it. Orange blossoms are all prim and virginal when the buds are shut tight. But when those petals part and the plump and sticky, frilly and feathery bits of pistil and stamen spill out, orange blossoms look just a bit promiscuous. Pollinating bees everywhere respond to this sensory scent like a moth is attracted to the consuming flame.

Not all that long ago, Mallorcans were busy producing Agua de Azahar or Flor de Taronger, an orange flower water also known as Fleur d’Oranger. I imagine that this stimulant was first initiated by the Maurish settlers on this island, hundreds of years ago. Today, no such tonic water is produced here in Mallorca. One can buy Fleur d’Oranger in a Morrocan corner shop, though, and a cheaper version in one or the other supermarket. Fleur d’Oranger is a welcome ingredient for some baking and patisserie pastries and can also be used in cooking or to flavour drinks. In North Africa you will be offered Fleur d’Oranger to clean your hands as you enter a host’s house.

The photo was taken in Costitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: May 1st, 2012. The time was 12:46:59.

The Malvasia Grape

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The Malvasia grape variety has historically only grown in the Mediterranean region, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but is now tended to in many other wine-making regions of the world as well, such as Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Corsica, the Iberian Peninsula, California, Arizona, Australia and Brazil. In the past, Malvasia wine was predominantly consumed as a sweet dessert wine similar to Malmsey wine from Madeira. The white Malvasia grape is more common but, a red Malvasia grape also exists.

In the old days, wine generally only had about 7 per cent of alcohol. It was then quite difficult to sufficiently cool the wine and as a consequence, much of the wine turned sour and could not be stored for any length of time. In contrast, the Malvasia wine even at that time had an alcohol content of about 14 per cent, making it considerably easier to store. Its low degree of acidity was regarded as delicious. Soon, the sweet Malvasia dessert wine was very popular at the European courts.

Here in Mallorca, the Malvasia vine was only rediscovered in the 1980s. The Malvasia grape only grows in the Tramuntana area, in Estellencs, Banyalbufar, Deià and Pollença, with Banyalbufar being the main producer. Of all the wine grown in this municipality, Malvasia is the only grape variety there. During the 16th century, a total of 25,000 litres of Malvasia dessert wine were produced by the Cooperativa de Banyalbufar alone, with most of that astounding amount being sent to the Court of Aragón. You might want to go to Banyalbufar one day; all vines are cultivated on terraces there, first built by the Moors some 1,000 years ago.

The consumption of dessert wines has decreased enormously in recent years. Mallorcan Malvasia grapes are now primarily used to produce white table wines. There is a young white wine from 2010 with a deliciously fruity aroma, selling at around 15 € and a slightly older, oak-barrel stored white wine with a heavier, round body selling for around 25 €. The first would be drunk to accompany a meal, whereas the latter would stand up as a wine drunk on its own, full of character. Mallorcan Malvasia dessert wine sells in half-litre bottles at around 12 €.

The photos were taken in Banyalbufar, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: May 18th, 2012. The time was 16:33:40 and 18:25:38, respectively.

The Salt of the Earth

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I have decided to give up on alcohol, well, almost. There will be no more spirits from now on, no more Cava, no more cocktails, no spritzers, no highballs, no beer, no cider. There will be one exception though, red wine. One cannot live in Mallorca and offer a daily photo blog and not be involved with wine, wine making, wine festivals or wine tasting. So it is going to be Vino Tinto in, everything else out, from now on.

That makes me sound a serious alcoholic when I don’t think I am (that’s what alcoholics tend to say, don’t they). I think I may have ten units during a one month period, when that may be the intake of many people in a night out or two.

I make mention of this because yesterday, I participated in an activity that the Els Amics dels Closos put on in and around Felanitx, a six weeks long Cicle del Vi a Felanitx (Felanitx wine series). It started off three weeks go with a round-table colloquium on the recent changes in vinicultural production, here in Mallorca. Then, last week we could visit the Bodega of Ànima Negra to test their offerings. Yesterday, a group of some 35 interested folks were invited to visit the Celler of 4 Kilos where we heard Francesc Grimalt talk about the most important component of wine making, the soil. We also tasted two different red wines in five different states of evolution (see photo above), albeit not their latest creation, Gallinas & Focas.

Next week, we will visit the Bodega of Vi d’Auba and a week later, that of Armero i Adrover. The wine tasting Bodega visits are open to the public but places are limited. You can put your name down in person at Paperería Ramon Llull in Felanitx; attendance fee is a modest 2 €.

The wine series will conclude in June with a colloquium on the different processes involved in the making and cultivation of wine. I think that one will be offered free of charge. You can check for details on the Amics blog should you want to do so. Salut.

The photo was taken in Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: May 5th, 2012. The time was 11:19:59.

Pruning the Vines

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Out there in Mallorca’s vineyards, this year’s first young shoots have appeared. The grapes will start to form in May and will grow and ripen over the Summer, before the Vendimia (wine harvest) starts in September.

The care for a field of vines is one of the hardest and most labour intense physical work I have ever come across. The vines have to be pruned and cleaned of last year’s shoots as early as January, before the earth between the rows of vines is ploughed and cultivated in February and possibly once more in March. The vines have to be pruned again in April and perhaps once more, in June. The varieties of grapes will then be evaluated, combined, married, macerated and fermented in the tank, for a maturation period of several months in the barrel, before the wine is bottled. The vino resulting from the shoot in today’s photo will not be ready for consumption for at least one year from now, and in some cases not for another eighteen months or even two years.

Saying this, the first Mallorcan wines of 2011 have just been presented, earlier this week. Last year was a good one for wine here in Mallorca, or so one hears.

One of the more important annual Mallorcan wine gatherings will be held in Pollença tomorrow and Sunday, the Fira del Vi (Pollença Wine Fair), presenting a hundred plus wines from 36 bodegas from the Balearic Islands. This event will take place at the Claustro de Santo Domingo (Convent), a historic venue opposite the Joan March gardens in Pollença, where cultural activities are organized throughout the year such as the Festival de Pollença. This will be an opportunity to try the first wines from last year and more mature wines from 2008, 2009 and 2010 (Saturday, 10h00-20h30, Sunday 10h00-14h00). Don’t drink when you drive, though.

¡Salut!

The photo was taken near Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 6th, 2012. The time was 17:30:18.

The Art of Grafting

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I am continually amazed about the cleverness and competence of Mallorcan farmers. Agriculture on the island may be on a historic low and in continuous decline but, the few pagesos still around and active can outwit any old stockbroker or computer whiz kid any time.

Take the fine art of grafting as an example. There would be no olive oil in Mallorca, or anywhere else for that matter, if olive trees would not have been cultivated by the art of grafting, at some time in their existence. Or wine. Or tomatoes. Or potatoes. Vines have to be grafted according to the variety wished for, just as fruit trees have to be grafted if a particular species of fruit is wanted, like in the photo here. In Mallorca, it is not uncommon to graft plums or peaches on to an almond tree. The almond tree is particularly prone to act as a mother host for any variety of fruit and sometimes you can find three different fruit varieties on one single almond tree. As long as you know what you are doing, of course.

February is the best time for vine grafting. For tree fruit, March and April are the perfect grafting season.

The photo was taken near Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 6th, 2012. The time was 17:30:18.

Les Fleurs du Mel

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I am not trying to quote Charles Baudelaire today. The blossoming tree photo has nothing to do with his Fleurs du Mal. Instead, the tree flowers of spring attract bees and insects by the hundreds to collect pollen for the industrious production of honey (Catalan: mel), in the case of the bees, and for instant nourishment in the case of other insects. Luckily, there is the added benefit of pollination which is done in the process to ensure that this tree will give us the plum or apricot or whatever this tree will bear. What a wonderful invention of nature, pleasing all our senses in the act: our eyes, our noses, our ears, our taste buds and our scientific eagerness to learn and to study.

The photo was taken near Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 6th, 2012. The time was 17:39:43.

Delightful Pear Trees in Bloom

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I sometimes wonder whether I like the first Mallorcan Springtime better than the second one, or the other way round. The first Primavera would be in January/February with half the island covered in white and pink almond blossoms, whereas the second Primavera would be now, from mid-March to mid-Aril, when hundreds of fruit trees of the peach, cherry, nectarine, apple, pear, prunes, plums variety and the like are in full bloom. The blossoms in today’s photo would appear to be of the pear variety (Pyrus communis); please correct me if I should be wrong. This pear is native to the island, strange as it may sound, as is the cherry (Prunus mahaleb).

The photo was taken in Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: March 20th, 2012. The time was 17:58:20.

Mallorcan Almonds

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Almonds in Mallorca are not in full bloom quite yet but, the first signs of the imminent beginning of the almond blossom season are apparent all over the island. The mild January weather helped the crop albeit there was a severe lack of rain so far. There may be plenty of almonds this year of a smaller size than usual, unless we get some rain in February. As it happens, rain is forecast for today and tomorrow and snow is forecast in Mallorca’s higher regions above 400 m from tomorrow night.

Our daughter baked a cake last night as a birthday token. She used almond blossoms as part of the decoration (see photo below). The flowers are edible.

The kernels of the bitter almond (Amygdalus communis) are a good source of amygdaline. According to both, Oriental Medicine and alternative medicine, these kernels are anti-carcinogenic. In Chinese pharmacology, the pits are classified as a drug rather than food as they contain cyanide (hydro-cyanic acid). They are used medicinally and are said to combat cancer, stimulate respiration, improve digestion, help reduce blood pressure and arthritic pain and give a sense of well-being. Don’t take my word for it; I am a blogger, not a doctor. If you have any health problems of the kind mentioned above, please consult your doctor.

The town of Son Servera usually holds the Fira de la Flor d’Ametler at the beginning of February. I have not found any dates for this year’s event, yet. If the date and the event get confirmed, I shall let you know.

The photo (top) was taken near Lluchmajor, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: January 26th, 2012. The time was 15:19:01. The photo (bottom) was taken in Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: January 27th, 2012. The time was 19:02:20.

Thank you, Onna.

Eid al-Kabir

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Moroccans and other nationals from North Africa celebrate Eid al-Kabir today in Felanitx and the rest of the island. The holiday marks the end of the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The festivity is also known as Eid al-Adha. Celebrations start 70 days after the end of Ramadan and usually last for three days. Not here, though, in Mallorca; here it is only a one-day holiday. The festivity is celebrated by slaughtering a male sheep or goat according to the rules of Halal and the Qur’an. The sacrificed animal then has to be shared out, giving one third to the poor and needy, preparing a meal for family members and friends with another third, and keeping only one third part for oneself and one’s immediate family.

In case you should fancy a festive lamb or goat meal, you could try a Fruity Lamb Tagine (recipe courtesy of bbcgoodfood). Heat some oil in a casserole and brown your piece of lamb (or goat) on all sides. Scoop the lamb out onto a plate, add onion and carrots and cook for 2 – 3 mins. until golden. Add some garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in spices and tomatoes, and season. Tip the lamb back into the casserole with some chickpeas and apricots. Pour over the stock, stir and bring to a simmer. Cover the dish and place in the oven for 1 hour. If the lamb is still a little tough, give it 20 mins. more until tender. When ready, leave it to rest so it’s not too hot, then serve scattered with pomegranate seeds and herbs, with couscous or rice to accompany.

Eid Mubarak.

The photo was taken in Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: November 5th, 2011. The time was 18:14:31.

Thank you very much, BBC.

The Annual Olive Harvest

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Whilst Mallorca’s grape harvest makes big headlines every year here and abroad, the island’s annual olive harvest gets underway rather unnoticed and overlooked. I have you know that in the foothills of the Tramuntana mountains this year’s olive harvest began last week. Last year, in 2010, a bumper harvest was recorded amongst Mallorca’s olive groves, resulting in the largest production of olive oil for years, here. This year, the weather was adverse for such record yields due to the unusually long spell of dry conditions and a severe lack of rain. In 2011, it looks like a drastic shortfall in olive reaping will have to be recorded here in Mallorca, albeit with a superior quality when compared with the normal Empeltre (shown here), Arbequina, Picual or Hojiblanca (Mallorca’s main olive varieties) crop. Rumours have it that the quantity of last year’s olive oil pressing resulted in a substantial surplus. It is widely expected that as a result retail price levels for Mallorcan olive oil will come down somewhat. Prices for crude olives are down considerably on last year’s wholesale levels.

Es Fangar, a German-owned, self-proclaimed organic farm in the East of the island seems to have opted for a different strategy. Their self-pressed olive oil combines Picual, Arbequina, Serrana and Villalonga varieties and is retailed almost exclusively in Switzerland, where 500 ml sell for the equivalent of 25 €. It is said to be good, though. Not that I have been to Switzerland recently, and I have not found it in any Mallorcan shops so far.

The pueblo of Caimari will hold its annual Fira de s’Oliva from November 19th to 20th. A Fira de s’Oli i Gerret (a small fish) will be held in Port de Sóller, November 26th and 27th.

The photo was chosen from my archive. It was taken near Caimari, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: November 12th, 2008. The time was 12:29:47.