La Palma, an island with an area of roughly 706 square kilometres, has always had an economy based mainly on the monocultural production of certain products to be exported to other countries. Most of these harvests were not enough for Palmeros to feed themselves and that was the reason why Palmeros went through several periods of starvation. This they overcame by emigrating to other countries or by limiting themselves to eating potatoes (papas) or gofio, a kind of flour they made from cereal and prepared in different ways, as we shall see later in this guide. Despite these conditions, Palmeros have always resorted to two monocultures: sugar cane and wines, which have become the basic ingredients of their traditional cuisine.
La Palma's cuisine has always been defined by desserts and cakes, mainly due to historical reasons. In the beginning of the 16th century Flemish, Portuguese and Andalusian colonists set up on the island and they introduced the first product to be exported: sugar cane. Simultaneously, the first vineyards of the island were planted. When the production of sugar cane decreased, the vineyards' importance increased and different wines produced on La Palma were drunk in many European noblemen's homes. The fame of the wines from La Palma was such as William Shakespeare, Walter Scott, Lord Byron and Robert Louis Stevenson among others mentioned them in their works. Sugar and wine production contributed to the enrichment of the island.
Nevertheless, life on La Palma did not reflect this richness or at least not in every section of the population. Early in the 19th century, Antonio Lemos Smalley wrote a description of the daily life on La Palma in his book "Usos y Costumbres de los aldeanos de esta isla de La Palma", where he spoke about the traditions and costumes of people on La Palma. He described that: "rich Palmeros are used to eating gofio, fisch and sometimes meat; while the poor resort to a kind of bread they make from the flour extracted from fern roots. They cut it and dry it. Then, they mill it and mix it with bran or wheat bran to make tough and black rolls which are, actually, tasty. The poorest section of the population eat bollo estreme, that is, the same bread as the poor except that they cannot afford to mix it with anything but they toast it and add mojos (a sauce) made from different kinds of pepper or conduto, a kind of dried fish, overripe fruit…
There is a Spanish saying referring to the different ways of cooking depending upon different climates: "In the south, people fry their food; in the centre, they grill it and in the North they stew it". This saying suits La Palma, as it is an island with a diversity of climates and, consequently, a wide range of different dishes and ways of cooking. Emigration and immigration are part of the history of this island which has always welcomed both visitors from different recipes of sweets, cakes, liqueurs, fruits, dried fruits, meat, fish…which were well accepted by both noblemen and peasents. On La Palma, cooking is closely related to craftsmanship, especially to embroidery as it is demonstrated by the fact that on special occasions, such as weddings, birthdays, christenings…, the dishes are served on a table covered by a tablecloth which has been embroidered by craftswomen.
