Fleur de sel: the gastronomic sea salt
The most refined, tastiest and most precious salt in the world is fleur de sel. This sea salt is extracted in a duly sustainable fashion, and it is a real winner in the kitchen, lending your dishes that unique touch and a refined taste. In a nutshell, fleur de sel is so much more than ‘just sea salt’… Read on to find out why!
Table of Contents
Extraction of fleur de sel
Fleur de sel owes its exclusive nature largely to the sustainable way in which it is extracted and the limited production capacity. The top layer of the salt pans is skimmed off as it were to extract the salt crystals from the water. This is done manually, yielding only a limited amount of salt.
Moreover, salt extraction requires the sun and the wind, which means salt production is able to occur only during a limited time of the year, under perfect weather conditions. All these elements contribute to the exclusiveness of fleur de sel and the slightly higher price it commands compared to kitchen salt.
Particular properties of gastronomic sea salt
Culinary speaking, natural and honest to goodness products have been all the rage in recent years. We are increasingly stepping away from fast-food, going for genuine ‘slow food’ products instead. As a 100 percent natural and unrefined product, fleur de sel is perfectly in keeping with this trend. In addition, this somewhat moist sea salt has a high content in natural minerals such as calcium, magnesium and iodine, and is entirely free of artificial additives.
Fleur de sel, a gastronomic sensation
These days, every self-respecting chef and amateur chef worth their ‘salt’ will deck their tables with a box of fleur de sel next to the pepper mill. All the more so as the discerning fleur de sel perfectly lends itself to finish fine cuisine dishes:
- Fleur de sel has a delicate and unique taste courtesy of its composition and extraction method.
- Fleur de sel is a 100% natural product, that has not been processed in any way, shape or form, and to which no additives whatsoever have been added. This goes to explain the higher moisture content and the different grain sizes. All of which combines to make the taste experience of fleur de sel a very different sensation from any other kind of salt. Just a few grains are all that is needed to deliver an intense taste.
- Fleur de sel also has a unique texture. Compared to regular salt, fleur de sel contains much more minerals, which give the grains a softer structure. Just a few grains on a piece of fish or meat, or tossed into a salad give you a ‘crunchy bite’.
- Gastronomic sea salt like fleur de sel lends dishes that exclusive finish in the blink of an eye.
In short, fleur de sel is the most refined and tasty salt of them all. Just the thing for gourmets, foodies and professionals who like to pep up their dishes with a tasty sea salt that is extracted wholly naturally and sustainably.