Mallorca’s landscape is without doubt amongst the most spectacular in southern Europe. The island offers it all, crowned by a dramatic mountain range called the Tramuntana, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and to its feet field upon field is now in blossom and bloom with almond trees. For the best part of 4 weeks, these trees bring joy and life to a normally dreary time of the year – even for Mallorca standards! Some owners of fincas and country houses for sale in Mallorca have almond trees on their land and can view this awakening of nature every day.
There are an estimated 5 million almond trees all over the island, almonds are a major crop and contribute to the island’s revenue. The highlight though is when these trees burst into bloom and cover the land in vivid pink and white. This spectacular sight can be generally admired from the last week in January through February depending, of course, upon the weather in general. Many people who have purchased a Mallorca apartment or villa for sale come over for a brief winter holiday just to see nature triumph over cold and adverseweather conditions in such a gorgeous manner.
Almond crops were first grown in the 19th century after the island wine industry was more or less wiped out by a severe phylloxera plague that virtually killed all the grape wines. Desperate Mallorcan farmers decided to plant less vulnerable almond trees instead on their Mallorca plots for sale. Nowadays, almost 50% of the almond growth is exported abroad, mainly to Belgium and Germany. Spain’s almond production is the second highest in the world, only beaten by California’s – and Mallorca is the main contributor to this record growth.
Mallorcan almonds are considered the finest world-wide and are enjoying a huge popularity thanks to the superb Mediterranean climate they flourish in and their low water content. They have a higher fat content than almonds from other countries and a luscious sweet flavour. Here on the island, almonds are harvested at the end of August. When you reside in your finca or country house in Pollensa or Campanet, organise some helpers for your own almond harvest! An experience that will be fun and make you also feel that little bit proud of your finca products!
You most certainly should never leave Mallorca without having tasted the famous and traditional “gató d’ametlles”, the moist flour-free cake usually eaten with ice-cream made from almonds. Enjoy the cake with a coffee accompanied by a small glass of “Flor d’Ametla” the famous liqueur made of – almonds! So you see that when you buy your dream Mallorca property for sale, no matter where on the island, there are always delicious home grown products to discover and Mallorca’s nature will surprise you constantly.