Salt has played an important role in Ibiza’s food traditions, helping families preserve fish, meat and olives long before domestic refrigerators became commonplace. These traditional methods were brought back into the kitchen on Wednesday, 4 November, during a practical session at the Escola d’Hoteleria d’Eivissa in Sa Coma, where local experts demonstrated how salt was used to keep food for longer.

Around 20 students attended the session, which formed part of the island’s Course in Ibizan Cooking and Gastronomic Culture. The afternoon focused on three traditional preparations: peix sec, salted pork products and olives salades. A fisherman, a representative of a local meat cooperative and a food enthusiast shared techniques and knowledge passed down through generations.

From the Sea to the Table: Preparing Peix Sec

Nicolás Vallespir, a fisherman from the Sant Antoni fishermen’s guild, demonstrated two ways of preparing peix sec, the traditional dried fish associated with the gastronomy of Ibiza and Formentera.

For the demonstration, he divided the fish into two portions. One was treated with brine, while the other was covered directly with salt, the method he usually follows.

The fish was then left hanging to dry. Vallespir explained that the preparation would take approximately four to five days to reach the stage demonstrated during the session.

The presentation ended with a tasting of dried fish served with tomato, a simple combination traditionally enjoyed on the island.

How Salt Helped Preserve Pork for Months

Salt was also essential during the traditional matança, the annual pig slaughter that supplied rural households with meat for much of the year.

Esidro Ramis, from Carn&Coop, explained how families used to preserve pork bones and xulla, a traditional fatty cut, by salting and drying them. Before refrigerators were available, these methods helped households store food for the months ahead.

Ramis explained that salted and dried pork products could last until spring. He also described how certain pieces could remain preserved in salt for almost six months.

The demonstration offered an insight into the practical knowledge that once played an essential role in household food supplies, particularly during the colder months.

The Traditional Method for Preparing Salted Olives

The final demonstration was led by Vicent Marí, known as Palermet, who shared the method he learned from his grandmother for preparing olives salades.

He explained that both olives trencades (cracked olives) and olives ratllades (scored olives) follow the same basic preparation process.

The olives are first left to soak in water for nine days, with the water changed once a day to help remove their bitterness. They are then placed in jars with brine and left to mature for several weeks, with regular tasting to check when the bitterness has disappeared.

Marí gave a recommended salt concentration of 100 grams per litre of water. He also described a traditional household method used when the amount of water has not been measured: placing a potato in the water and checking whether it floats as an indication that there is sufficient salt.

He advised preparing the olives around a month before they are needed.

A different process is used for white olives. Marí explained that these are first cracked or cut and left in lime for 15 days, with occasional stirring, before being transferred to the brine. This method was explained to the students but was not demonstrated during the session.

Preserving Ibiza’s Culinary Knowledge

The salt-preservation workshop was part of the first academic course dedicated specifically to Ibizan cooking and gastronomic culture, organised for the 2026–2027 academic year.

The 90-hour programme explores the island’s culinary heritage through practical cooking sessions, seasonal ingredients, traditional recipes and visits to local producers. Its wider programme covers subjects including salt, olive oil, wheat, pork slaughter traditions, Christmas cooking, rice dishes, wines and seafood.

By bringing together people who have learned these techniques through fishing, food production and family traditions, the session helped pass on practical knowledge that forms part of Ibiza’s gastronomic heritage.

From drying fish to preserving pork and preparing olives, the demonstrations showed how a simple ingredient such as salt once helped island households make the most of their food and keep local traditions alive.