It is also renowned for its artisan fishing and as a center for the collection of Flor de sal, an expensive salt variety.
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She worked with British chef Marc Fosh to develop mixtures of flor de sal with herbs and spice blends added, such as orange, lemon, black olive, lavender, rosemary, dried rose petals, curry spices, and beetroot. Spain's Canary Islands are also a source of flor de sal. Saltworks have operated on La Palma and Lanzarote for centuries, but the flor de sal that resulted was kept for the use of the workers until 2007, when the salt gained gourmet status. The culinary rediscovery of fleur de sel and other gourmet salts has saved small scale artisanal saltworks in the Canaries, which were in rapid decline.
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There is also a museum in Cuyutlán, dedicated to the history and technique of flor de sal production. Flor de sal is also harvested along the beaches of Celestun in Yucatan, Mexico where Mayans cultivated salt 1,500 years ago for its distribution throughout Mesoamerican trade routes extending to Guatemala, Central America and the Caribbean. Brazil started producing flor de sal in 2008 in the traditional salt-producing area of Macau, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. The salt kept for use in Brazil is iodized though, as required by the Brazilian law for all salt intended for human consumption, but that intended for export is not.
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Necton's flor de sal is whiter than the fleur de sel from Guérande, and is said to have the more robust flavor of the Atlantic as opposed to Guérande's milder Biscay Bay flavor. Due to Portugal's laws regarding the grading of salt, Necton's flor de sal is exported to France and marketed by companies who also market fleur de sel. Spain also produces high quality flor de sal in the Ebro Delta on the mainland and the Salinas d'Es Trenc on the island of Majorca and in the Salinas de la Trinidad in the Ebro Delta. Majorca has a long history of salt production, dating to the Phoenicians and the Romans, but flor de sel was mostly kept for local use until Katja Wöhr arrived from Switzerland in 2002 and convinced local officials to allow her to harvest it in Es Trenc.
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Before the invention of salt mining, Portugal's sea salt production helped to solidify its place as a world power. However, when mechanical salt mining made salt inexpensive, demand for Portugal's sea salt dropped due to its expense. For centuries flor de sal was scraped away and either discarded or given to workers, as its presence disturbed the evaporation that was creating the sea salt underneath. The process of harvesting flor de sal for sale was reintroduced in 1997 by Necton, with a grant to develop ways to capitalize Portugal's natural resources.
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Canada now produces high quality fleur de sel from the Pacific Ocean off Vancouver Island. The colder climate adds extra crunch and reduces the flakiness. Unlike traditional European fleur de sel, which crystallizes naturally in the sun, Canadian fleur de sel makers heat their seawater to force evaporation. Mexico has produced both sea salt and flor de sal since Aztec times from the Lagoon of Cuyutlán on the Pacific Coast.
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Fleur de sel Fleur de sel ("flower of salt" in French; ) or flor de sal (also "flower of salt" in Portuguese, Spanish and Catalan) is a salt that forms as a thin, delicate crust on the surface of seawater as it evaporates. Fleur de sel has been collected since ancient times (it was mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his book Natural History), although it was traditionally used as a purgative and salve. It is now used as a finishing salt to flavor and garnish food. The name comes from the flower-like patterns of crystals in the salt crust.
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Traditional French fleur de sel is collected off the coast of Brittany, most notably in the town of Guérande (called Fleur de Sel de Guérande), but also in Noirmoutier, and Île de Ré. Difference between fleur de sel (left) and coarse salt (right) from the salterns of Guérande. Greeks have harvested sea salt and fleur de sel (ανθος αλατιού) along the Mediterranean Sea coast, particularly the Mani Peninsula of Lakonia and Missolonghi, from ancient times. Flor de sal is harvested in Portugal, mostly in the Aveiro District and in the Algarve, but also in the salt marshes of Castro Marim, at the mouth of the Guadiana River that forms the border to Spain. Roman ruins near Ria Formosa specifically suggest that there has been a long history of sea salt production here.
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