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''Fleur de sel'' ("flower of salt" in
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
; ) or ''flor de sal'' (also "flower of salt" in
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
,
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
and
Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
) is a salt that forms as a thin, delicate crust on the surface of seawater as it evaporates. ''Fleur de sel'' has been collected since ancient times (it was mentioned by
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...
in his book '' Natural History''), and was traditionally used as a
purgative Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation. Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant, lubri ...
and
salve A salve is a medical ointment used to soothe the surface of the body. Medical uses Magnesium sulphate paste is used as a drawing salve to treat small boils and infected wounds and to remove 'draw' small splinters. Black ointment, or Ichthyol ...
. It is now used as a finishing salt to flavor and garnish food. The name comes from the flower-like patterns of crystals in the salt crust.


Harvesting

One method of gathering
sea salt Sea salt is salt that is produced by the evaporation of seawater. It is used as a seasoning in foods, cooking, cosmetics and for preserving food. It is also called bay salt, solar salt, or simply salt. Like mined rock salt, production of sea sa ...
is to draw seawater into marsh basins or salt pans and allow the water to evaporate, leaving behind the salt that was dissolved in it. As the water evaporates, most of the salt
precipitates In an aqueous solution, precipitation is the process of transforming a dissolved substance into an insoluble solid from a super-saturated solution. The solid formed is called the precipitate. In case of an inorganic chemical reaction leading ...
out on the bottom of the marsh or pan (and is later collected as ordinary sea salt), but some salt crystals float on the surface of the water, forming a delicate crust of intricate pyramidal crystals. This is ''fleur de sel''. The delicacy requires that it be harvested by hand, so this is done with traditional methods using traditional tools. In France, the workers who collect ''fleur de sel'' are called ''paludiers,'' and they employ a wooden rake called a ''lousse à fleur'' to gently rake it from the water. In Portugal, a butterfly-shaped sieve called a ''borboleta'' is used instead. It is then put in special boxes so that it will dry in the sun, and to avoid disturbing the flakes as it is transported for packaging. Historically, the workers who harvested ''fleur de sel'' were women, because it was believed that as the salt crystals were so delicate, they needed to be collected by "the more delicate sex." Because it is scraped from the salt marsh like cream from milk, ''fleur de sel'' has been called "the cream of the salt pans." It is also called "the caviar of sea salts." ''Fleur de sel'' can be collected only when it is very sunny, dry, and with slow, steady winds. Because of the nature of its formation, ''fleur de sel'' is produced in small quantities. At
Guérande Guérande (; br, Gwenrann, ; french: label=Gallo, Geraundd) is a medieval town located in the department of Loire-Atlantique, and the region of Pays de la Loire, Western France. The inhabitants are referred to as ''Guérandais'' (masculine), and ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, each salt marsh produces only about one kilo (2.2 pounds) per day. Because of this and the labor-intensive way in which it is harvested, ''fleur de sel'' is the most expensive of salts. This method of salt formation and collection results in salt crystals that are not uniform. The salt also has a much higher amount of moisture than common salt (up to 10% compare to 0.5% for common salt), allowing the crystals to stick together in snowflake-like forms. The moisture means that ''fleur de sel'' won't dissolve right away on your tongue, so the taste lingers. Also, since it is unrefined, it is not just sodium chloride. Other minerals, like calcium, and magnesium chloride, give it a more complex flavor. These chemicals make ''fleur de sel'' taste even saltier than salt, and give it what has been described as the flavor of the sea. Trace mineral content depends upon the location at which it is harvested, so the flavor varies with point of origin. ''Fleur de sel'' is rarely the pure white of table salt. It is often pale gray or off-white from clay from the salt marsh beds. Sometimes it has a faintly pink tinge from the presence of ''
Dunaliella salina ''Dunaliella salina'' is a type of halophile green unicellular micro-algae especially found in hypersaline environments, such as salt lakes and salt evaporation ponds. Known for its antioxidant activity because of its ability to create large a ...
'', a type of pink
microalga Microalgae or microphytes are microscopic scale, microscopic algae invisible to the naked eye. They are phytoplankton typically found in freshwater and marine life, marine systems, living in both the water column and sediment. They are unicellul ...
commonly found in salt marshes. However ''fleur de sel'' from Ria Formosa in Portugal is white.


Uses

Only about 5% of
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
is used for cooking, but ''fleur de sel'' is used only to flavor food. It is not used in place of salt during the cooking process, instead, it is added just before serving, like a garnish, a "finishing salt," to boost the flavor of eggs, fish, meat, vegetables, chocolate, and caramel.


Sources

Sea salt has been gathered around the world for millennia, but over the last thousand years, ''fleur de sel'' was only harvested in France. Elsewhere it was collected and discarded. As the market for specialty salts has grown, companies have begun to harvest ''fleur de sel'' for export wherever the geographic and meteorological conditions are favorable.


Europe

Traditional French ''fleur de sel'' is collected off the coast of
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
, most notably in the town of
Guérande Guérande (; br, Gwenrann, ; french: label=Gallo, Geraundd) is a medieval town located in the department of Loire-Atlantique, and the region of Pays de la Loire, Western France. The inhabitants are referred to as ''Guérandais'' (masculine), and ...
(called ''Fleur de Sel de Guérande''), but also in
Noirmoutier Noirmoutier (also French language, French: Île de Noirmoutier, ; br, Nervouster, ) is a tidal island off the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of France in the Vendée Departments of France, department (85). History Noirmoutier was the locatio ...
, and
Île de Ré Île de Ré (; variously spelled Rhé or Rhéa; Poitevin: ''ile de Rét''; en, Isle of Ré, ) is an island off the Atlantic coast of France near La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait. Its highe ...
.
Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
have harvested sea salt and ''fleur de sel'' (ανθος αλατιού) along the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
coast, particularly the
Mani Peninsula The Mani Peninsula ( el, Μάνη, Mánē), also long known by its medieval name Maina or Maïna (Μαΐνη), is a geographical and cultural region in Southern Greece that is home to the Maniots (Mανιάτες, ''Maniátes'' in Greek), who cla ...
of
Lakonia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, con ...
and
Missolonghi Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...
, from ancient times. ''Flor de sal'' is harvested in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, mostly in the
Aveiro District Aveiro District ( pt, Distrito de Aveiro, or ) is located in the central coastal region of Portugal. The capital of the district is the city of Aveiro, which also serves as the seat of Aveiro Municipality. Aveiro District is bordered by the Po ...
and in the
Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...
, but also in the salt marshes of
Castro Marim Castro Marim () is a town and a municipality in the southern region of Algarve, in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 6,747, in an area of 300.84 km2. The current Mayor is Francisco Amaral, elected by the Social Democratic Party. The mun ...
, at the mouth of the
Guadiana River The Guadiana River (, also , , ), or Odiana, is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from the e ...
that forms the border to Spain. Roman ruins near
Ria Formosa The Ria Formosa lagoon, located in the Algarve, in southern Portugal, is a system of barrier islands that connects to the sea through six inlets. Five of these inlets are natural and have mobility characteristics. The sixth is an artificial inlet ...
specifically suggest that there has been a long history of sea salt production here. Before the invention of salt mining, Portugal's sea salt production helped to solidify its place as a world power. However, when mechanical salt mining made salt inexpensive, demand for Portugal's sea salt dropped due to its expense. For centuries ''flor de sal'' was scraped away and either discarded or given to workers, as its presence disturbed the evaporation that was creating the sea salt underneath. The process of harvesting ''flor de sal'' for sale was reintroduced in 1997 by Necton, with a grant to develop ways to capitalize Portugal's natural resources. Necton's ''flor de sal'' is whiter than the ''fleur de sel'' from Guérande, and is said to have the more robust flavor of the Atlantic as opposed to Guérande's milder Biscay Bay flavor. Due to Portugal's laws regarding the grading of salt, Necton's ''flor de sal'' is exported to France and marketed by companies who also market ''fleur de sel.''
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
also produces high quality ''flor de sal'' in the Ebro Delta on the mainland and the Salinas d'
Es Trenc The beach of Es Trenc close to Campos on the southern coast of Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also ...
on the island of
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
and in the Salinas de la Trinidad in the
Ebro Delta The Ebro Delta ( ca, Delta de l'Ebre, ; es, Delta del Ebro, ) is the delta region of the Ebro River ( ca, Ebre, links=no, es, Ebro, links=no) in the southwest of the Province of Tarragona in the region of Catalonia in Spain. It is located on ...
. Majorca has a long history of salt production, dating to the Phoenicians and the Romans, but flor de sel was mostly kept for local use until Katja Wöhr arrived from Switzerland in 2002 and convinced local officials to allow her to harvest it in Es Trenc. She worked with British chef Marc Fosh to develop mixtures of ''flor de sal'' with herbs and spice blends added, such as orange, lemon, black olive, lavender, rosemary, dried rose petals, curry spices, and beetroot. Spain's
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
are also a source of ''flor de sal''. Saltworks have operated on La Palma and Lanzarote for centuries, but the ''flor de sal'' that resulted was kept for the use of the workers until 2007, when the salt gained gourmet status. The culinary rediscovery of ''fleur de sel'' and other gourmet salts has saved small scale artisanal saltworks in the Canaries, which were in rapid decline.


Americas

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
now produces high quality ''fleur de sel'' from the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
off
Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
. The colder climate adds extra crunch and reduces the flakiness. Unlike traditional European ''fleur de sel'', which crystallizes naturally in the sun, Canadian ''fleur de sel'' makers heat their seawater to force evaporation.
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
has produced both sea salt and ''flor de sal'' since Aztec times from the Lagoon of Cuyutlán on the Pacific Coast. There is also a museum in Cuyutlán, dedicated to the history and technique of ''flor de sal'' production. ''Flor de sal'' is also harvested along the beaches of Celestun in Yucatan,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
where Mayans cultivated salt 1,500 years ago for its distribution throughout Mesoamerican trade routes extending to Guatemala, Central America and the Caribbean.
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
started producing ''flor de sal'' in 2008 in the traditional salt-producing area of
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
, in the state of
Rio Grande do Norte Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", ref ...
. The salt kept for use in Brazil is iodized though, as required by the Brazilian law for all salt intended for human consumption, but that intended for export is not. The main producer is ArtSal - Flor De Sal.


Mineral composition

Because it is harvested naturally from the sea and is usually not refined, ''fleur de sel'' has more mineral complexity than common table salt. The following is a chemical analysis of Flos Salis, a ''flor de sal'' by Portuguese company Marisol:


See also

*
List of edible salts Edible salts, also known as table salts, are generally derived from mining (rock salt) or evaporation (including sea salt). Edible salts may be identified by such characteristics as their geographic origin, method of preparation, natural impurities, ...


References


External links


The Wall Street Journal on the Camargue saltworksde sal/como
{{portal bar, Food Edible salt