La meva àvia era una dona de casa seva que anava cada dia a comprar a mercat per cuinar el producte fresc aquell mateix matí. Com a bona matriacra feia receptes que ara ens semblen elaboradíssimes, i un dinar d’un simple dimarts es convertia amb un bon àpat que semblava de diumenge. Això sí, a l’hora de sopar ja era una altra cosa… Suposo que, al menjar tan fort al migdia, quan arribava l’hora de sopar aquella família ja no tenia ganes de res. De fet, a casa dels meus avis només es parava taula al migdia; per sopar hi havia una tauleta auxiliar a la saleta (que no és el menjador) que ja servia. El sopar era una cosa més informal, o bé un poc de pa amb oli, o una truiteta a la francesa, o unes peces de fruita, o bé unes galletes d’Inca trempades amb un poc de tomàtiga fregada… I aqui és on volia arribar! A les galletes d’Inca, aliment molt simple i auster però que genera tendències addictives! Producte que defineix la identitat mallorquina i es troba a totes les cases! Les galletes d’Inca són un must del nostres rebosts!

Una anècdota important dins la història de Mallorca fou quan l’any 1993 la fàbrica Quely va sofrir un incendi que va destruir tota la nau. Això va provocar que s’hagués de parar la producció, i el consum de Quelys a l’illa perillava i la gent es començava a inquietar… Doncs bé, a les dues hores de l’incendi ja teníem el propietari fent declaracions als mitjans locals i assegurant que un dels seus objectius era trobar nous llocs on produïr, per garantir l’abastiment de galletes a tot el territori mallorquí! Buf… Vam tenir un bon susto…

My grandmother was a woman of her home that used to go to the market every single day and buy fresh produce to cook it that same morning. Like a proper matriarch, she would cook recipes that would seem extremely elaborated nowadays, and lunch on a Tuesday would suddenly become more of a Sunday-like great meal. For supper, though, that was different. I guess that after having such heavy meals at midday, by dinner time the family had no appetite. In fact, at my grandparents’, the table was laid only for lunch; at night, an auxiliary table that they had in the living room (which is not the same as the dining room) did the job. Dinner was something more informal: a little bit of pa amb oli, a French omelette, some fruit, or galletes d’Inca with some rubbed tomato… And here is where I wanted to get! Galletes d’Inca, a savoury hybrid between a biscuit and a cracker, very simple and austere but really addictive! This product defines our Majorcan identity and it is found in every home. Galletes d’Inca are a must in our pantries!

Besides a light dinner, they are also a good after school snack when combined with a bit of chocolate and they make a nice breakfast when we have run out of regular biscuits. There’s even people that will soak them in their coffee and enjoys that very much! Anyway, they are a substitute for EVERY other food during critical times, when we have forgotten to buy bread, when we don’t have anything for supper… And we always pack them in our luggage when we travel to countries that do not guarantee a good digestion. Every Majorcan student that lives abroad (or in the mainland) gets some bags of these biscuits when the family visits them or through a care package sent by their mother. It is said now that, thanks to the campaign by Rafa Nadal, the galletes d’Inca by Quely have been internationalised and are sold worldwide. However, worried Majorcan mums have been sending them for years to every part of the world.

Galletes d’Inca are oil biscuits and were born from necessity, as usual. Sailors were tired of eating dry bread and asked their baker to make a more durable type of bread that would not go off during the long trips out in the sea. Why are they called galletes d’Inca, then? Well, in Inca we can find the bakery Ca’n Guixe, the embryo that with time has become an empire, the Quely company, one of the most outstanding Majorcan brands which had a very important role in the childhood of many generations of Majorcan people because of their biscuits. Lately, other brands have made their version and they are also sold in bakeries; you can find them in different flavours and types. However, in everyone’s memories, Quelys have a place and always will. We actually call the biscuits Quelitas in honour of the brand. And the name Quely? It turns out that the owner of the company was married to a big fan of Grace Kelly and to make her beloved wife happy he named the factory Quely after the actress.

An important story in the history of Mallorca is that in 1993 the Quely factory underwent a fire that destroyed the entire industrial plant. This caused the production to stop and the Quelys consumption in the island was endangered so people started to worry. Well, there was no need for that since only two hours after the fire the owner was already talking to the local media and promising that he would find new places to produce the biscuits to guarantee the Quelys supply in the island. Huff! We had a terrible fright!

Text by BenMallorquí