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This is the favourite Mallorcan (and greater Catalonian) snack – a regional version of the more internationally known bruschetta. The basic item is sliced bagette rubbed with garlic then smeared with fresh tomato, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. To this basic recipe, you can add whatever you please – usually ham and/or cheese. The vibrant flavour is utterly irresistible.

Olives

Frit is cheap peasant food at its heaviest, consisting of fried offal of the famous black Mallorcan pig, cooked in oil with potatoes and onions. You’ll find it at its savoury best in some of the more traditional market towns of Es Pla. Llom amb col , pork wrapped in cabbage, is equally traditional and substantial.

The vegetables that go to make up this stew can vary widely, depending on the season, but classically comprise a selection from among the following: aubergine (eggplant), bell peppers, courgettes (zucchini), onions, cabbage and potatoes. Seasoning consists mainly of garlic.

By far the best of Mallorca’s sopas (soups) is fish soup, a hearty stew of shellfish and white fish in a broth flavoured with garlic and saffron. It may also contain rice or pasta for added body. Other soups common on the island are concoctions of vegetables and mixed meats, often seasoned with garlic.

Arròs (rice) dishes include: the familiar paella a la catalana or a Valencia , saffron rice with seafood, fish, chicken and sausage; arròs brut , rice with offal; and arròs negre , rice with seafood cooked using squid ink.

Mallorca’s most prized sausage, sobrassada , comes from the island’s famous small black pigs. It’s tender, flavourful and tinged red from spices, and you’ll find various versions of it, including a sobrassada pâté for spreading on toast.

The Mallorcan version of this classic is the pièce de résistance wherever it is served. The salt pack keeps the moisture and flavour safely inside, and when it is cracked open you find the most delicate, succulent fish, with just a hint of saltiness to add piquancy.

These unbelievably light and flaky spiral pastries are the pride of the island. They can be dusted with icing sugar or filled with candied fruits or jam.

Mallorca is now enjoying a decided upswing in its wine production, and you can generally depend on the house wines to be very good. The reds are considered the island’s best at the moment, being robust and aromatic, though some whites attain a lively fruitiness.

Cana is the term to use in a bar when you want them to pull you a draught beer; ask for a cana gran if you want a large one. Cervesa (beer) tends to be of the pilsner type, though in Palma you can find a local variety that is black, fizzy and bitter.