The stages of salt production
The salt flats of La Concepción
Those who reveal salt, the salt workers, are the shepherds of the sea. It is an atypical culture because the water disappears so that the salt appears, whereas generally the water is used to feed the seed. 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 pans. It is then harvested by hand with great care.
For sea salt, three harvests are carried out per year (traditionally at the end of June, end of July and end of August).
Seawater is first pumped into large reservoirs. It then passes through tanks with clay floors to increase its salt concentration. The resulting product is called brine. The brine passes through a series of crystallizers, i.e. concentration areas, and becomes increasingly enriched in concentrated salt. All the salt pans are the same height, and the water passes from one to the other by gravity.
Solar evaporation of salt occurs in clay-bottomed basins, thanks to the heat of the sun, a constant wind and scarce rainfall during the salt harvest period, from June to September.
The average salt concentration in seawater is 30 grams per litre. At the end of the evaporation process, it reaches 330 grams per litre.
La Concepción salt flower is an example of sustainable production: it is produced and dried only by wind and sun, and is 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 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 sea water and is harvested from 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 lithos, “stone”) is rock salt. Historically, halite deposits are the result of evaporation from seas or saline lakes. These deposits are composed of layers up to 30 metres thick. In France, rock salt deposits were formed during the Secondary 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 exploited since the Neolithic 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 mined from mountains in layers up to 400 metres deep. In the past, the brine was evaporated in large containers. Today, the concentrated brine is transported via pipelines to drilling tanks and from there to salt pans, where it is purified and crystallised 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:
- Formation: The fleur de sel forms on the surface of the salt marshes in the late afternoon, with a gentle wind. It is collected by hand with sieves and dried naturally in the sun. If it is not collected at the end of the day, it sinks and mixes with the coarse salt.
- Granulometry: Sea salt grains are between 1 and 6 millimetres in size, while fleur de sel grains vary between less than 1 millimetre and 4 millimetres.
- Production: Fleur de sel represents 5% of the sea salt produced on the same surface.
- Processing: 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 not processed, they are only dried in the sun. They do not consume energy, unlike rock salt or igneous salt, so they 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 micro particle filters that drastically reduce plastics in the water.
- Flavor: Fleur de sel dissolves quickly on 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 the digestion of proteins in the stomach.