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Agriculture

Melting Down the Saïm

Cooking and baking in Mallorca would be inconceivable without Saïm (Castellano: Manteca, Lard), just as cooking would be without olive oil. Saïm is pig fat in both its rendered and non-rendered forms, […]

Irreparabile Tempus

Time is relative. As Wikipedia puts it, time is used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change […]

Oranges and Sunshine

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 […]

An Invasion of Snails

You may not be much into snails as a gastronomic treat or even as a pet but, this being a blog about Mallorca and its traditions and customs, snails it […]

Biodiversity and Conservation

The Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avançats (IMEDEA, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies) is a research centre, jointly run by the Consell Superior d’Investigacions Científiques (CSIC) and the Universitat de les Illes Balears […]

Water Music

One could argue that Mallorca lived a moment of advancement and prosperity during the period of Moorish jurisdiction. During that time (902-1229), progress was made by refining agricultural methods, by introducing […]

The Philosopher’s Bone

When my friend Andreu waved me down in the street a few days ago to tell me about a field of lentils (Lathyrus cicera) that he had discovered nearby I […]

Wild Gladioluses

One of my many Mallorcan delights is a small and delicate wild flower with up to twelve soft purple florets. They are wild gladioluses (Gladiolus italicus), also known as Common […]

Pruning the Vines

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 […]

The Art of Grafting

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 […]

Les Fleurs du Mel

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 […]