Island Foraging in Mallorca: Seasonal Herbs, Edibles & Nature Rituals

Each quarter of the year on Mallorca brings its own edible treasures. In spring, tender greens and wild asparagus peek through. Autumn delivers apples, mushrooms, and olives. Winter’s bounty might surprise you with citrus and hardy greens. But in the heat of summer, nature gears up for feast mode: capers, rosemary, figs, and more dot the landscape, just waiting to be gathered.

Last week, while staying with family in the charming beach town of Son Serra, I wandered back from the shore and spotted clusters of caper bushes (Capparis spinosa) clinging to sun-baked stone walls. Those tiny unopened flower buds—capers—aren’t something you can just pop into your mouth raw, but with a little prep, they become tangy little flavour bombs.

Foraging Capers

• Buds: Pick when small and tightly closed, snapping them off individually.

• Berries: Let the ripe reddish berries almost split open, then harvest.

• Leaves: (Optional) Young leaves can be pickled or even used in soothing poultices.

In Ayurveda, capers are celebrated for supporting liver health, aiding digestion, and calming inflammation. They balance Pitta and Kapha doshas while giving Vata a gentle stabilising hug.

Pickling Your Capers

• Rinse: Clean buds under cold water.

• Salt Cure: Layer with coarse salt in a jar, shake daily for a minimum of 2 to 3 weeks, but can be left for a month.

• Rinse & Dry: Remove excess salt and let the buds air-dry.

• Vinegar Soak: In a sterilised jar, cover with your choice of malt, white-wine, or cider vinegar.

• Add Flavour: Toss in peppercorns, bay leaves, or fresh herbs.

• Wait: Let them pickle for weeks (or months if you can resist!).

Once ready, they bring that signature briny kick to salads, sauces, or your homemade chutneys.

Rosemary has been thriving year-round here, but this summer she feels particularly abundant—bursting with vitality and generosity.
It’s perfect timing, really. Back on the island, we’re always looking for ways to slow down, soften into the senses, and root into ritual. And rosemary offers the most beautiful opportunity to do just that—why not bring a little Mediterranean spa into your kitchen and your bathroom?

As a heating diaphoretic and nervine, rosemary has a warming, uplifting effect—especially soothing for Kapha-type imbalances like sluggishness, low mood, or heavy-headedness.

She stimulates the nervous system, supports circulation, eases muscle fatigue, and clears brain fog. She’s known to sharpen memory and awaken the senses with her bold, aromatic presence.

One of my favourite ways to honour her?

Rosemary-infused salt.

Crush dried rosemary with flaky sea salt and a touch of lemon zest.
Use it to season roasted vegetables, sprinkle it over warm bread with olive oil, or rim the edge of a calming herbal mocktail.

It can also be transformed into a simple, grounding ritual—infusing bath salt, which serves as a medicinal aid for memory.

You’ll need:

• A handful of coarse sea salt (gentle enough for your skin)

• 2–3 tablespoons of rich olive oil

• Fresh rosemary sprigs, finely chopped

• A zesty sprinkle of lemon zest

How to:

• Mix salt, oil, rosemary, and lemon zest in a clean jar.

• In the shower, apply to damp skin using slow, circular strokes.

• Breathe deeply—feel the rosemary clear your mind, the lemon lift your spirits, and the salt wash away what you’re ready to let go.

  It’s a simple five-minute ritual that leaves you glowing and grounded, just like a workout on a quiet sunrise on a Mallorcan cove.

Figs are ripening everywhere—on roadside trees, tucked behind crumbling walls, and even in urban corners. Their honeyed flesh paired with a hint of almond is the essence of Mallorcan summer. I’ve been itching to revisit my favourite almond-fig tart recipe (you can find it in my previous blog post!), adapting it each year to the freshest fig bounty. Trust me, one bite and you’ll understand why figs are the Mediterranean’s sweetest gift.

Finally, let’s talk vetiver—known as useera in Sanskrit. This bittersweet grass with deep, earthy roots is prized in Ayurveda for its cooling, calming properties: perfect for those long, sun-drenched afternoons. I use the vetiver leaves in hot water to drink and have a wonderful hydrosol to mist my skin by Kama Ayurveda to clear my skin—its toning effect is a gentle tonic against heat-induced irritability and anxiety.

Before we wrap up our summer foraging tour, I have to share one more seaside delight: Rock Samphire. Early summer is absolutely prime time to pick these crunchy, cucumber-flavored fronds, though you can still find tender young shoots well into late summer—just steer clear of the woody flowering stems.

Why I Love Rock Samphire

• Beachside Easy: You’ll spot it on salty cliffs and rocky shores—perfect “beach food.”

• Culinary Chameleon: Toss it in a sauté with ghee and your favourite spices. Pile it on as a sub for fresh greens, serve it alongside fish, or stir it into pasta or rice for that briny lift.

• Great Shelf-Life: When packed in salt or vinegar, it keeps beautifully, so you can enjoy a taste of the sea long after your walk along the coast.

If you’ve felt the shift—recognising that cooking, movement, and simple rituals can guide you back to yourself—then you’re already on the path. You don’t need more complicated protocols or trendy fads. What you need is a supportive community that honours timeless wisdom and holds space for your unique journey.

In the Sacred Vitality Collective, we gather around what matters most: your health. Together, we cook nourishing, gut-loving meals; we move in ways that honour our changing bodies; and we weave rituals—morning practices, evening self-massage, seasonal resets—that reconnect us to our innate vitality.

If you’re ready to stop searching and start living these principles in community, the doors are open now.