Salted_ A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral, With Recipes - Mark Bitterman [50]
As with so many salts in the region, fleur de sel de l’Ile de Noirmoutier varies from producer to producer. The salt sold by Coopérative des Producteurs de Sel de l’Ouest, the cooperative on the island, is slightly heartier than the other French Atlantic salts. It has a distinct, slightly metallic mineral flavor, and larger, sometimes more irregular crystals. Independent producers can make salts that are finer.
Fleur de Sel de l’Ile de Ré
ALTERNATE NAME(S): none MAKER(S): cooperative; independent TYPE: fleur de sel CRYSTAL: fine; highly irregular COLOR: blushing silvery white FLAVOR: extraordinary mineral balance; mildly briny MOISTURE: moderate ORIGIN: France SUBSTITUTE(S): fleur de sel de Guérande; fleur de sel de Camargue BEST WITH: duck fat-fried potatoes; fish; small birds; fresh vegetables; butter cookies; it is amazing churned into sweet cream butter
Extremely delicate to the touch and glittering with a rosy tint, freshly harvested fleur de sel de l’Ile de Ré is possibly the most perfectly crafted artisan salt in the world. The crystals are pristine, like gemstones cut by a master jeweler. The flavor is clear, defined, unashamed, and at the same time mild. Mineral flavors reflect the temperate climate’s tendency to evaporate water from the condensing salt brine more slowly than many other places.
The weather on the island is better than the nearby surrounding areas. “We can sometimes see the rainfall over La Rochelle, while we ourselves are working in the sun on the salt pans,” laughs one salt maker. In the small town of Ars-en-Ré, you will find an unusual combination of salt-making cooperatives and small, independent producers working side by side. The best fleurs de sel come from Ile de Ré’s many independent producers. Visiting a few of the boutiques set up in shacks around the island by independent salt makers will give you an idea of the subtler charms that emerge when comparing many different salts—like taking a wine tour through Oregon’s Willamette river or the France’s Rhône. The largest independent producer, Esprit de Sel, produces very good salt and packages it with the care it deserves.
Across from Esprit de Sel’s sparkling headquarters is the island’s decidedly unsparkly salt-making cooperative, Les Sauniers de l’Ile de Ré. The building itself still retains its flavor as a bare-bones organization, conceived to perform the necessary functions that fall outside the salt makers’ domains of expertise, such as quality control of harvested salt, storage, packaging, marketing, sales, and distribution. The salt makers contributing to the cooperative often put just as much care and expertise into their salts as independent salt makers, so virtually any fleur de sel you buy from Ile de Ré is likely to be of very high quality.
What would be the perfect meal for fleur de sel de l’Ile de Ré? As comfortable as this salt is in the most elegant setting, it also has a natural ability to lend a sense of refinement and quiet celebration to everyday life. My choice: mild radishes spread with butter and dipped in fleur de sel de l’Ile de Ré served with a small glass of sweetly floral Pineau des Charentes poured over ice; grouper in a light saffron cream sauce finished with a few fresh herbs and fleur de sel; and a wild berry tart with fleur de sel baked on the crust.
Flor de Sal d’Es Trenc
ALTERNATE NAME(S): none MAKER(S): Gusto Mundial Balearides TYPE: fleur de sel CRYSTAL: fine; highly irregular COLOR: transparent with a faint blush FLAVOR: mild; very balanced; warm MOISTURE: moderate ORIGIN: Spain SUBSTITUTE(S): fleur de sel de Camargue BEST WITH: saucy fish dishes; vegetable sandwiches; fried green tomatoes
Es Trenc’s fleur de sel seems coarser to the eye than some of the finest-grained fleurs de sel. But to the touch and tongue, it is pure