Fleur de sel

(Flower of the Salt)

The 'flower of the salt' is the thin layer of white crystals that forms on the surface saltmarsh, generally by the evaporating action of the wind.

The fleur de sel is formed primarily during the summer nights when the temperature differential between the warm air and the surface of the saltmarsh is sufficient.   It is aligned with the wind on the edges of the pond. 

The harvest of the fleur de sel is different from the harvesting of regular salt, in that it happens for only a short period each year.  Once the saltmarshes have been reclaimed and worked on to bring them to a productive standard, the young salt crystals are manually harvested on a daily basis from the surface of the ponds, during a one month period in each year (usually from mid-July to mid-August in the northern hemisphere).

The saliculteurs (artisan salt farmers – known as Paludiers in the Guérande and Sauneris on the Ile de Ré and Noirmoutier) collect the fleur de sel from the surface of the pond using a special ladle (these can be made from chestnut wood, resin or aluminium).  This is a highly skilled art, and has to be undertaken very gently, otherwise the fleur de sel can sink.  If this happens it would become wholesale salt.

Then it is drained and dried in the sun. The drying period lasts for a year, so that its moisture naturally descends to an optimal level.

The characteristics of fleur de sel crystals are different from that of normal salt, because they have not been immersed for such a long time, and are much thinner than the large salt.

Fleur de sel dissolves quickly, and this is what makes it ideal as a seasoning for food.  Like all salt, it should be added towards the end of cooking, or even better, as a finishing salt taken from pinch pots on the table.

Sometimes pinkish or salmon in colour, this is due to the proliferation of the salina, a microscopic red alga 'Dunaliella' which gives a pleasant smell of violets.  It is rich in magnesium and trace elements, and its taste is deemed to be much finer and delicate than normal table salt.  The fleur de sel from the Guérande has been awarded a Red Label (Label Rouge) Charter of Quality in France.

For true salt connoisseurs, fleur de sel is widely known as 'the salts of caviar' and is accepted by many as the best finishing salt in the world.