Fine grain sea salt

This sea salt is extracted on one of the cleanest Atlantic coasts of Europe, the Guérande. The incoming tide is directed through salt works in the marshes in basins approximately 60 cm deep. The water flows slowly through the basin and evaporates. With a salt content of 280 g/l sea salt crystals are formed and deposited in the salt works. During the »harvest « the crystals are skimmed by hand with a special wooden tool. After harvest, the salt is put out in the sun to dry and dried further in an electric oven afterwards.

Salt is indispensable in our nutrition and has been a cherished condiment since antiquity. A number of cities based their fortunes on the rare commodity, the 'white gold', like Halle (from Old High German hall = salt), Schwäbisch Hall or Bad Reichenhall.

Today salt is everywhere and available in almost any amount. Much of it is industrially produced and is nothing more than pure sodium chloride. But cooks and gourmands prefer natural salt from established regions and traditional extraction processes. With natural salt the enjoyment of nuances in the taste of salt is possible, and one may detect the differences in the aroma of salts from diverse provenances. Salt is apparently like mineral water: water can vary so much in its taste even if the shares of minerals contained in the water are relatively small and so does natural salt.

The evaporation of seawater is the oldest form of salt production. Even today, on the Atlantic and the North Sea coasts the tides are tamed in salt works and the saltwater is moved in the sun from basin to basin until it reaches a concentration of 280 g/l and the salt crusts turn into crystals. Manually, and with a wooden shovel, Fleur de Sel, the highest quality, is then skimmed off in a paper thin layer.
Later on extracting salt from brine started when underground brine deposits or saline springs were discovered. This is the practice in Luisenhall, where the brine is led up from great depths into salt basins. The brine in the Luisenhall salt halls is turquoise in colour. It is put to rest in oak barrels to allow suspended particles to settle. Then the brine is directed to the boiling pans where it is boiled until the salt crystals can be harvested.

By the way, it's a popular fairy tale that table salt must have an expiration date. An expiration date presumes deterioration because of the action of bacteria or mould (biological) or oxidation (chemical). As an inorganic substance, salt is not affected by such a processes. The opposite is the case: salt is so stable that it endures for millions of years. In the Bible, alliances that one hoped would last eternally were referred to as covenants of salt. The German food labelling regulations (Lebensmittel-Kennzeichnungsverordnung – LMKV) says explicitly in §7(6) in compliance with EU law: "The specification of an expiration date is not needed for table salt, except for iodized salt." So, you don't have to worry about an expiration date for our salts -– none of them are iodized. Their expiration dates can be reckoned in geological epochs. We offer salt of different extractions and composition: directly extracted from sea water, mined from the earth and salt extracted from subterranean deposits springs and vaporised in salt works. To be strictly accurate the salt we offer is in any case from the sea, because all salt deposits ultimately come from deposits with a maritime origin.
Please bear in mind: Our sea salt is always slightly damp because it is untreated. For use in a salt mill, we recommend the Luisenhaller Salzmühlensalz or the rock salt from our selection.

this unwashed naturally produced salt can sometimes clump, which will not compromise its quality.

Salt, essential for our diet, has been a sought-after seasoning since ancient times. Quite a few cities founded their prosperity on the rare commodity, the "white gold", such as Halle (from Old High German hall = salt), Schwäbisch Hall or Bad Reichenhall.

Today salt is available everywhere and in almost any quantity, much of it comes from industrial production and is sodium chloride in its pure form. However, cooks and connoisseurs prefer salt from vouched regions of origin, and with traditional extraction methods, a sense for the taste nuances of salts from different provenances is developing again. Because with salt it is apparently like mineral water, whose mineral content measured by volume is also very small and yet significantly affects the taste.

The oldest form of salt extraction is the evaporation of sea water. On both the Atlantic and North Sea coasts, the sea tide is domesticated in salt marshes to this day, and the salt is moved from basin to basin under the sun until crystals form at a salt content of 280 g/l. The fleur de sel, the highest quality, is then skimmed off as a wafer-thin layer by hand with a wooden shovel.
Later, salt began to be extracted from underground veins in the form of brine. This was also the case in Luisenhall, where the brine was first extracted from great depths into saline basins. A view of the Luisenhall salt works hall shows the turquoise-green brine resting in oak basins so that suspended matter can settle before it is fed into the boiling pans. There the salt boils until the salt crystals can be harvested.

Specification:

Sea Salt

Ingredients:

sea salt

origin/origin:

France

Responsible Food Business Operator:

Le Paludier
B.P. 22 Rue de Bretagne
44740 Batz-Sur-Mer
France