The salt flats of La Concepción
Those who reveal the salt, the salt workers, are the shepherds of the sea. It's an atypical culture because the water disappears so that the salt can appear, whereas water is usually used to nourish the seeds. A good salt worker is an alchemist: he masters the secret of water.
When a gentle breeze blows from the north in the late afternoon, the fleur de sel crystallizes on the surface of the salt flats. It is then harvested by hand with great care.
For sea salt, three harvests are carried out each year (traditionally at the end of June, the end of July and the end of August).
Seawater is first channeled into large reservoirs. It then passes through tanks with clay floors to increase its salt concentration. The resulting product is called brine. The brine then flows through a series of crystallizers, or concentration areas, becoming increasingly rich in salt. All the salt pans are at the same height, and the water flows from one to another by gravity.
Solar evaporation of salt occurs in basins with clay bottoms, thanks to the heat of the sun, a constant wind and the scarce rainfall during the salt harvesting period, from June to September.
The average salt concentration in seawater is 30 grams per liter. At the end of the evaporation process, it reaches 330 grams per liter.
The fleur de sel from La Concepción is an example of sustainable production: it is produced and dried solely with the wind and sun, and harvested without the use of machinery or fossil or electrical energy.
Origin and extraction
Salt, or sodium chloride (NaCl), is a mineral of marine origin. It was present in the water when the oceans covered the Earth and was deposited in layers of sediment as the sea receded.
Salt is found in three forms:
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Sea salt
Sodium chloride, fleur de sel, or sea salt, is produced by the evaporation of seawater and is harvested in salt marshes. Solar or wind energy is used to evaporate the water. It is the only salt that does not require energy for its production. -
Rock salt
Halite (from the Greek) hals , “salt”, and Halite (from the Greek words lithos , meaning "stone") is rock salt. Historically, halite deposits are the result of the evaporation of saline seas or lakes. These deposits are composed of layers up to 30 meters thick. In France, rock salt deposits formed during the Mesozoic Era, between 250 and 200 million years ago, and during the Oligocene, in the Tertiary Era, between 33 and 23 million years ago. These deposits have been mined since the Neolithic period and are found in places such as Hallstatt in Austria, Cardona in Spain, and Slanic-Prahova in Romania. Their extraction requires machinery and, therefore, energy. -
Igneous salt
Salt is extracted from mountain layers up to 400 meters deep. In the past, the brine was evaporated in large vats. Today, the concentrated brine is transported through pipelines to drilling tanks and from there to saltworks, where it is purified and crystallized in combustion evaporation plants. The salt produced in this way is known as igneous salt.
Differences between fleur de sel and sea salt
Fleur de sel and sea salt differ in their harvesting method:
- Training: Fleur de sel forms on the surface of salt marshes in the late afternoon, when a gentle breeze blows. It is harvested by hand using sieves and dried naturally in the sun. If it is not collected by the end of the day, it sinks and mixes with the coarse salt.
- Granulometry: Sea salt grains range in size from 1 to 6 millimeters, while fleur de sel grains range from less than 1 millimeter to 4 millimeters.
- Production: Fleur de sel represents 5% of the sea salt produced in the same area.
- Prosecution: Sea salt is washed and sifted, often finely ground, while fleur de sel is dried completely naturally.
- Composition: Fleur de sel contains less sodium than coarse salt.
- Texture: Sea salt grains are hard and suitable for grinders, while fleur de sel grains are sprinkled directly onto dishes.
7 benefits of sea salt and fleur de sel
- Environment: Sea salt and fleur de sel are unprocessed, simply sun-dried. Unlike rock salt or igneous salt, they require no energy and therefore have no environmental impact.
- Minerals: Common fine salt contains 99.9% sodium chloride; fleur de sel contains only 95%, supplemented with minerals and trace elements (magnesium, potassium, calcium and iron).
- Heavy metals: Sea salt and fleur de sel are free of heavy metals, nitrates and pesticides.
- Plastics: We use microparticle filters that drastically reduce plastics in the water.
- Flavor: Fleur de sel dissolves quickly upon contact with food, allowing it to penetrate the dishes it seasons, giving them a unique flavor and texture.
- Hydration: Fleur de sel and sea salt help the body stay hydrated and retain fluids longer than refined salt, thanks to their nutrients, especially potassium and sodium.
- Digestion: By activating the salivary enzyme amylase, which breaks down carbohydrates, they improve digestion. They also contribute to the production of hydrochloric acid, necessary for protein digestion in the stomach.
