Ibiza has a huge variety of fish, vegetables and fruit to fill up your shopping basket during the different seasons, as well as the traditional chicken, pork and lamb eaten on the island. All these ingredients combine to form a diverse collection of local recipes, which you can eat at the Ibizan food restaurants near Hotel Ánfora and other areas on the island. But these ingredients are also found in the traditional food products, like the well-known sobrassada d’Eivissa.
You must try these typical Ibizan products
Sobrassada d’Eivissa: Don’t miss it!
This typical product is also made on the island of Mallorca and is linked to the pig slaughter, which is an ancient tradition kept for centuries in Ibiza and the rest of Spain to provide cured meat all year round. Out of all the different types of sausages made, sobrasada (sobrassada in Catalan) is the star and it’s made with meat, spices, salt and paprika. There are two types of sobrasada: the thin one, to be eaten during the first months and only needs to be cured for 20 days, and the thick one which is cured for longer and was usually kept for spring or summer.
Sobrassada d'Eivissa. © Ibiza.travel
You’ll be able to try it during your stay at Hotel Ánfora, as this typical Ibizan sausage is served among the savoury breakfast options. Spread as much as you like on bread. Try it! Ibizan sobrasada is different from the one made in Mallorca, as it has less fat and it’s also made with noble cuts of pork, so it has a firmer texture than the one made on our neighbour island.
Once you’ve tried it, you’ll probably want to take some home for yourself or as a delicious gift. If you do, remember to check the label and buy the ones with the “Sobrassada d’Eivissa” stamp, which is a quality mark promoted by the regional government to recognise the sobrasada made the traditional way from pigs raised on the island.
Hierbas Ibicencas: Raise a toast to your holidays!
During your stay at Hotel Ánfora, you’ll also be able to taste Ibiza’s traditional liquor: simply go to the lounge bar or pool bar and ask for a “copita de hierbas” (a small glass of this herb liquor). With its sweet scent, this digestive spirit is made in the old country houses following the family recipe, so its taste usually varies from one bottle to another. What’s it made of? liquor, star anise, green anise, lemon and orange peel, juniper, fennel and lots of different herbs, including rosemary, thyme, oregano, lemon verbena, lavender, rue, eucalyptus, camomile, mint and sage. If you’re checking in your case, take back home a bottle of the famous hierbas ibicencas from Ca n’Anneta, an iconic restaurant in Sant Carles, only a few minutes’ drive from Hotel Ánfora.
Hierbas Ibicencas. © NC / Hotel Anfora
Ibizan cheese: to eat and take back home
Another food product that’s easy to find and take back home is Ibiza’s traditional cheese, made with milk from local goats or sheep. In the old days, families made their own cheese in their country houses, but nowadays you can buy a variety of cheeses made by the companies Companatge and Ses Casetes: fresh, with paprika, with oregano, rosemary, cumin, thyme...
Ibiza’s wines and olive oils
Other products you can try in many restaurants is the island’s own wines and olive oils, which, the same as the hierbas ibicencas, have their own Protected Geographic Indication (PGI): Vins de la Terra and Oli d’Oliva d’Eivissa. Some of the most remarkable wines are those made with the Monastrell grape, which is a variety that has been traditionally grown on the island and adapts well. On the other hand, the virgin olive oil with Oli d’Oliva d’Eivissa PGI is made with at least 90% of the Arbequina, Picual and Koroneiki varieties, either alone or combined. If you’re checking in your case, these two food products are a fantastic gift as a souvenir of Ibiza.
Ibizan oil made by Can Miquel Guasch. © CMG
Other products to taste and pack in your case
Ibiza leaves a fabulous taste in the mouth (literally). Take note of these other local products you’ll find in restaurants, shops, street markets and bakeries on the island. If you run out of time, you can also get them at the airport.
- Flaó: traditional dessert made with goat’s and sheep’s cheese, sugar, eggs and mint.
- Ensaimada: a typical pastry made on the Balearic Islands that is also sold in small portions, but the usual thing is to buy a big one.
- Orelletes: a sweet cake infused with the scent of lemon and aniseed. It’s shaped like an ear, which gives it its name, as “orelletes” means small ears in Catalan.
- Café Caleta: this liquor has only been marketed for the last few years and it’s made with brandy, coffee, cinnamon and orange peel.
- Mel d’Eivissa: this is the name given to the honey produced on the island, with its singular floral hints given by the island’s geography and its wild plants, like sweet clover, stinking clover, viper's bugloss, heather and carob tree, among other plants.
- Salt: one of the most typical gifts is a pot of salt from the natural reserves of Ses Salines d’Eivissa, dried in the traditional way under the sun.
Ibiza's honey. © Ibiza Sabors
Main picture: Flao. © turismo.eivissa.es
