Saffron and capers
12/01/2014 18:29:58
"Saffron (safrà) is one of those specially indicated plants given Mallorca’s soil and climate. It’s cultivated in a lot of places, though preferably on the plain where it prospers quite easily. However, it doesn’t produce a lot. Worth noting is the saffron grown in Porreres where, in addition, they produce the product with the best quality. It’s followed by that in Inca and Lloseta. At any rate, Mallorca’s saffron is considered the best in Spain. In fact, it is the best in the world. It should come as no surprise that in the 1857 Agricultural Expo in Madrid, it was awarded one of the first prizes. The plant likes light, somewhat dry and well-worked land. The bulbs are planted towards January or February after preparing the ground just like for onions. The flowers bloom in May, and the buds are gathered just as soon as they open. The stigmas are then dried. If they’re to be used as a condiment for food, they are treated with boiling oil and then left to dry again to be preserved in a bottle or sealed recipient to avoid contact with air. The saffron set aside for dyeing and export, by contrast, is not treated with boiling oil. The majority of saffron produced on Mallorca is consumed on the island itself as a condiment for numerous specialties or to make sauces, especially used in soups and rice dishes.
Capers (taperera) grow in almost every area of the island, especially on the plain. We can see this beautiful plant with its intense green color and white flowers bordering the road and even decorating the city of Palma’s walls and in incredible quantities in Alcúdia, the reason why the latter could be called the city of capers. The plant is also abundant in the countryside, especially in the towns of Llubí and Campos. It is only harvested in the first of these where a farmer by the name of Lorenzo Arrom dedicates himself to this crop with great interest. So much so, that he has successfully increased the capers’ fertility considerably, achieving fame not only on the island but also abroad. Testimony of this are the awards received in the 1857 Agricultural Expo in Madrid and other, more local fairs. Arrom works the fields as if cultivating vegetables, but without watering them. He then picks the capers every two or three days when they’ve reached the right level of maturity."
Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria. Las Baleares por la palabra y el grabado. Majorca: General Part. Ed. Sa Nostra, Caja de Baleares. Palma de Mallorca. 1982.
