Salt is a mineral that can be found both in liquid or solid form. It can be found in oceans, lakes, or rock beds buried deep in the earth. Where salt comes from is the key to how it is made.  The earliest method of salt production was the evaporation of seawater by the heat of the sun. This method was particularly suited to hot, arid regions near the ocean or near salty lakes and is still used in those areas. Our favorite sea salts are explained below.

HAND HARVESTING SEA SALT

GUERANDE SEA SALT 

During the earth's formation, the Guérande salt ponds in Brittany, northwestern France, were part of a bay in the  Atlantic Ocean. The gradual retreat of the sea left behind a series of floodable pools. The first written record of a salt marsh concession in Guérande in the north-westernmost region of France dates from the year 854. Salt harvesting became prevalent from the 10th to the 15th centuries and the tradition has been carried on by artisan paludiers using an ancient Celtic method developed 2,000 years ago. By the Middle Ages, the ocean had tried to reclaim its territory, but man had already modeled the landscape to extract  the "white gold". Between 1540 and 1660, the salt pond area was definitively established and salt from Guérande was in great demand and was sent to the four corners of the globe. A gigantic mosaic of salt ponds, the Guérande peninsula retains and subdues the ocean's tides. The twofold action of the sun and the wind bring into existence sea salt, a completely natural and unprocessed source of trace elements and taste.

FLEUR DE SEL 

When the wind in Guérande  blows from the east, fine crystals form on the surface of  the salt pond, forming "fleur de sel" or literally, "the flower of salt". This is the very top of the line, the best salt on the planet. Several grains suffice for flavoring an individual serving. When harvested, fleur de sel is pale pink in color.  It becomes white after drying naturally in the sun. The salt gatherer (paludier) harvests it with a  special rake. Only 1 kg is produced for every 80 kg of coarse sea salt.Fleur de sel, with its subtle taste of violets, is wonderful used at the table to replace ordinary table salt.

"SEL GRIS" or Coarse Gray Sea Salt

These salt crystals are formed on the bottom of the salt pond. Using a large rake-like tool, the salt gatherer(paludier) detaches the crystals which 
he will eventually haul out of the water and pile into a pyramid shape to dry. Each salt pond section can produce approximately 50 kg per day. We recommend coarse gray Guérande salt as a replacement for ordinary table salt in cooking in order to add more trace minerals to your diet and reduce the consumption of sodium chloride.

MALDON SEA SALT

Originally the furnaces burned coal shipped from the north of England, and were hand-fired. This required considerable skill in ensuring that the correct temperatures where obtained at different stages of the boiling process. Today, although the furnaces are fired by natural gas, skill in maintaining the correct temperatures is essential.

During the evaporation of the seawater, salt crystals begin to form on the surface. These form as tiny hollow pyramid-like structures, which are unique to the Maldon process. As the crystals become heavier they sink to the bottom of the saltpan.'Drawing the pans' - The ancient craft of hand-harvesting the salt crystals, using the traditional long handled rakes, is still practised by the company today.  The pans are allowed to cool slowly overnight and are then 'drawn'. This involves hand harvesting the crystals using traditionally made long handled rakes. The salt is then put into shallow drainage bins before finally being transferred to the salt store for drying and packaging.

HALEN MôN

The salt making process begins with pure charcoal-filtered sea water drawn from Wales’ Menai Straits. But before the water ever reaches us it has already passed through two filters: a mussel bed, nature’s finest filter, and a sandbank which ensures no fish or seaweed are unwittingly trapped.

The filtered sea water is gently heated in a vacuum which encourages it to almost boil at a low temperature. As the water releases steam it is concentrated into very salty brine. The steam that is produced is used, in its turn, to heat the brine. When the concentration of salt in the water is high enough we release it into shallow crystallisation tanks. In the quiet of the night delicate crystals begin to form, first on the surface then sinking as they grow. In the morning we harvest the salt, gently scooping out the flakes. Then we rinse them in brine until they shine with snowy brilliance. Finally, the salt is carefully dried

In areas where the climate did not allow solar evaporation, salt water was poured on burning wood or heated rocks to boil it. The salt left behind was then scraped off. During the time of the Roman empire, shallow lead pans were used to boil salt water over open fires. In the Middle Ages these were replaced with iron pans which were heated with coal. In the 1860s a procedure known as the Michigan process or the grainer process was invented, in which salt water was heated by steam running through pipes immersed in the water. This process is still used to produce certain types of salt. By the late 1880s open pans were replaced by a series of closed pans, in a device known as a multiple-effect vacuum evaporator, which had been used in the sugar industry for about 50 years. 

Salt buried in mines deep in the earth, however, is the main source of our table salt. Salt mines are found almost everywhere in the world. The salt is obtained by two methods. In one, the salt veins in deep mines are broken loose by drills and explosives.

The salt is carried to the surface on elevators and is then put through a crusher. A screen then separates it into various size crystals. This is also done in underground plants as well as in mills on the surface. The crystals are then sorted by size, packed, and sent to various users.

The other method for obtaining salt, the hydraulic method, involves the drilling of two wells deep into the earth's salt beds. Fresh water is then pumped under high pressure into one of the wells through a pipe. When the water reaches the salt beds, it dissolves the salt, and the salty water, called brine, is then forced up to the surface through a pipe in the second well.

At refineries, the water is evaporated from the brine, leaving grains of salt. These grains are placed in revolving cylinders, into which hot air is forced to speed the drying of the salt. The dried grains are then graded for purity, grain size, and their final use.

In addition to salt's use as a seasoning for food, there are over 14,000 other uses for this valuable mineral. It is used by meat packers, chemical companies, leather processors, and food processors; it is used in the manufacture of soap, glass, chlorine, and paper; it is used to preserve hay, purify water, soften water, build roads, refine metals, melt snow and ice, and freeze ice cream.

If all the oceans of the world dried up, they would leave enough salt to cover the continental United States with a layer of salt 1.5 miles deep!

Today the United States is the world's largest producer of salt, followed by China, Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom, India, and France. 

Salt Information compiled from "How Things Are Made" 

also Guerande-Brittany Sea Salt, Maldon Sea Salt  and Halen Mon Sea Salt (see links page to find out more)