Salt is a mineral. The body uses it every day: nerves, muscles, the water inside and outside the cells.
Sodium chloride does not work alone. Potassium moves in and out of the cell with sodium: they are a pair. Magnesium takes part in that pump. Calcium acts in muscle and bone.
That is why unrefined salt matters: it keeps the minerals the water and the place already carried. At the Salinas de la Concepción, magnesium, potassium and calcium. Thanks to an artisanal process, they remain in the crystal.
What unrefined salt is
Unrefined salt is virgin sea salt. It forms in the ponds of the salt pans. It is not washed. There is no industrial process.
It is gathered by hand, with the lousse, as artisan work. It dries in the sun. If there is any impurity, it is cleaned by hand on the drying tables. It is packed and sealed by hand. No plastics.
Choosing good food, unrefined, is choosing those minerals as nature left them.
You can also read how fleur de sel forms and the stages of salt production.
How it is obtained
This salt is born at the Salinas de la Concepción, on Fornells Bay, Menorca. The only active salt pans on the island. Since 1853. Biosphere Reserve.
Sea, sun, wind and the natural elements form the crystal. The salt workers harvest. Care for the place and its biodiversity — the water, the birds, the coastal plants — is part of the same craft.
The story of the salt pans and the visit speak of the same place.
Fleur de sel
Within that unrefined salt, fleur de sel is the one with the most minerals. It is the purest. It forms on the surface and is gathered by hand with the lousse, when the day allows it.
Fine, crunchy, delicate crystals. A taste of the sea. A pleasant salinity. It goes on at the end, on the plate.
Questions
What is unrefined salt?
Virgin sea salt that forms in the ponds. It is not washed. Gathered by hand with the lousse. Dried in the sun. If needed, cleaned by hand on the drying tables. Packed and sealed by hand. It keeps magnesium, potassium and calcium.
What is particular about fleur de sel?
It is the unrefined salt that concentrates the most minerals. A crunchy, delicate texture. A taste of the sea.
Where is it produced?
At the Salinas de la Concepción, Fornells, Menorca.
