Friday, August 12, 2005

Fleur De Sel

There were a couple of questions about my Fleur De Sel, so I will see if I can answer them.
First of all, what is it?
Here is a blurb I copied from a salt website:
Fleur de Sel is an all natural sea salt from Brittany France. Unprocessed, unrefined, unadulterated. This salt is unlike any you've ever tasted, more like a condiment than a spice, it highlights food flavors and is never too salty, in fact it is almost impossible to overdo it. That is the simple and delicious truth. How it is made is much more difficult.

In Brittany near the town of Guerande are marshes and low lying areas suitable for salt fields. There is a mini climate that is much milder that the rest of Brittany. The currents of the Atlantic run cleaner there than many salt harvesting locations. This confluence of nature makes for an ideal area for a salt farm region. Guerande has no peer in Europe for the quality of salt produced.

The salt fields of Guerande are long and narrow so that an artisan paludier (craftsman salt harvester) can sweep the top of the evaporating sea water to harvest the precious sel gris de Guerande (hand harvested salt with a grey cast). On warm breezy afternoons when there is no rain, that single days evaporation of salt crust on top of the salt pond is harvested as the Fleur de Sel. It is the least salty, purest part of the saline. The harvest is usually May to September. For every 80 pounds of sel gris produced, there is one pound of Fleur de Sel that is harvested.

The taste of Fleur de Sel is the complex balance of the sea and her minerals with small flaky crystals, a moist texture and slightly grey/pink cast. It is used to finish a dish. It is a natural compliment to fresh raw vegetables and salads.

Yes, I am nuts, but I truly believe that it makes a difference to the flavour when you finish dishes with it.
Second, What is my beloved brand that I can't seem to find in Vancouver?


There you have it, my salt! Anymore questions? Anyone want to debate the merits of Maldon Salt over Fleur de Sel...

3 comments:

Erika W. said...

I found your sea salt online at Saltworks. I'm very tempted to buy one for myself. Here is the link. http://www.saltworks.us/shop/product.asp?idProduct=31
Hmmm...don't know if that will work or not. But it's at least there. If they don't ship up North, let me know, I'd be happy to send some to you. Of course, then I'd have to get one for myself right away...

Unknown said...

Thank you Erika... I too found that link then balked when I saw they ship UPS. I am going to PM you, okay?

Little Mama said...

Thank you so much for the info about Fleur de Sel. I might just have to get some of that. My fiance is a salt lover and would be so happy if I bought him "fancy" salt. It sounds great.