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When you*re planning an all inclusive holiday to Majorca, perhaps the last thing on your mind is the excellent food available while out there. Obviously the beaches, sunshine and activities are at the forefront of your mind at this stage, but you'll be relieved to hear that Majorca's food is really good and made from local produce. The seafood, especially is fresh and flavoursome, and although it's possible to get every type of cuisine under the sun (you can easily find an authentic curry house, or a full English breakfast in the resorts) the local Majorca cuisine is hearty, flavoursome and fairly priced. In this article, I shall outline some of the traditional foods you can expect to find on a package holiday to Majorca.

Breakfasts

Common wisdom dictates that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and whether you believe this or not, it's best to become a temporary subscriber so you can enjoy an ensaimada each morning. These are spiral yeast buns dusted with icing sugar, and are rarely seen outside of the island, making them a popular product for tourists to fill their suitcases with when the time comes to leave the island paradise. Make sure you bring a few back when you reach the end of your all inclusive holiday to Majorca.

Light Bites

Although these are labelled as light bites, it's very easy to come back to these Majorcan food items, making them into a whole meal and spoiling your dinner! Treats range from trampos (similar to vegetarian pizza), cocarrious (local pasties), local soups and pa*amb oli * a traditional mix of Majorcan bread, garlic, tomato and olive oil, sometimes with cheese or cured ham on top. You should definitely try these delicacies of Majorca's cuisine during your visit to the island.

Filling Dinners

If you have managed to resist filling up on cocarrious, the main meals are sure to leave you satisfied. Pork is the main meat in Majorca's cuisine, and the lechona asada (roast sucking pig) is a favourite for those who usually end up with eyes bigger than their stomachs. Pork also plays a big part in sobrasada (chorizo sausages) and llom amb col, an old favourite of pork wrapped in cabbage with pine nuts and raisons. Lamb is an alternative to pork based dishes, and fish eaters will delight in the fresh monkfish and bream, and may even indulge in the lobster stew on a special occasion. Another favourite in Majorcan food is *frit mallorqui* * a fry up of offal, potatoes, tomatoes and onions.

All of this sounds a little worrying for vegetarians looking to find good cuisine in Majorca, but rest assured there are a number of options available for them, all using vegetables grown locally: cauliflower with raisins and pine nuts, pumpkin fritters, various mushroom dishes, and my personal favourite: tumbet, which is a ratatouille of aubergines, peppers and potatoes in olive oil.

Indulging the Sweet Tooth

Majorca's deserts aren*t the strong point of Majorcan food, but there's still enough here to warrant saving some space for afters. Turron is handmade nougat with local almonds, puding is the name for a desert similar to cr*me caramel and geixonera de brossat is delightful local cheese cake. For those without enough room, the local fruit and nuts are considered a good way to round off a meal.

*and to drink?

But to compliment Majorca's cuisine, you need a good drink to wash it down. It seems natural for an island that was once occupied by the Romans to be big wine drinkers, and the Majorcans do not disappoint. The central plains of the island have proved excellent for grape production, with Benissalem the main village for wine. The red wine named after the settlement is particularly recommended. Elsewhere, the island also makes rather fine brandy * and you may find yourself sneaking a couple of bottles home from your package holiday to Majorca!