Renting a villa gives you something hotels cannot: a kitchen and the freedom to cook with Majorca’s exceptional local produce. Making the most of it is one of the quiet pleasures of an island holiday.

Shop where the islanders shop

Skip the large tourist supermarkets when you can and seek out the weekly markets that rotate between towns. Sineu holds one of the oldest and most atmospheric markets on Wednesdays, while Santanyi, Alcudia and Pollensa all have their own days. Here you will find sun-ripened tomatoes, fresh almonds, local olives and cheeses that taste nothing like their exported versions.

Ingredients worth seeking out

• Sobrassada, a soft cured sausage spiced with paprika, spread on bread
• Local tomatoes for pa amb oli, the island’s simple bread-and-oil staple
• Fresh fish from a coastal market for a straightforward grilled supper
• Ensaimada, the coiled pastry, picked up warm from a village bakery for breakfast

Keep cooking simple

You are on holiday, so resist the urge to attempt elaborate meals. The point of good Majorcan ingredients is that they need very little. Ripe tomatoes, good olive oil, bread and a glass of local wine on the terrace as the sun drops is a meal in itself.

Plan to eat out for the dishes that are harder to recreate, such as a slow-cooked tumbet or fresh paella by the harbour, and cook the easy things at home. This rhythm of market mornings and unhurried evening meals tends to become the part of the trip people remember most, and it costs a fraction of eating every meal in a restaurant.