We all love the beauty of the almond blossom in January/February in Mallorca. We also relish Mallorcan almonds even though it seems increasingly difficult to get any in the markets. We tend not to really give much thought to the remnants of the almond nut, the almond shells.

The locals treasure almond shells, though, at least they used to. Mallorcans use the shells of almonds for heating purposes. You have seen Mallorcan folk sitting round a small round table with a long table cloth covering their laps and legs? There is a brasero positioned at the bottom of this table stand with embers of wood, or of almond shells, to warm their feet. Of course nowadays, in the age of traditions making way to the modern comforts of let’s say, electricity, more and more braziers are equipped with electrical heaters. But almond shells give a more ecologically-friendly and less expensive warmth, they are locally produced and they give a better smell.

Some Mallorcan ceramic workshops still use almond shells for the firing of their furnace. My photo was taken at Sa Teulera, one such taller ceramica, in Porreres.

The photo was taken in Porreres, Mallorca, Spain. The date: November 29th, 2008. The time was 12:33:44.