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By Root 817 0

of great salt. Is this because this water brings new minerals to the salt water? “Who knows?” he answers, then just says, “No.” His is an observation, not a theory. Why, he is not sure. For those who would explain the creation of salt in terms of chemical processes, or in terms of artisanal processes, or in terms of any other processes for that matter, Oliveira offers not scorn, but a gentle glimmer of humor in the warm darkness of his eyes. Salt is a mystery, he says, and like nature in general, the important thing is to respect and appreciate it. Deep below the visual extravagance of his salt lurks an open-ended discussion with the experience of salt: how it plays with other flavors and then dissolves into an unknown connection with whatever comes next.

Flos Salis

ALTERNATE NAME(S): none MAKER(S): Marisol TYPE: fleur de sel CRYSTAL: superfine frizz of grains and microflakes COLOR: lush white FLAVOR: bright front; warm body; faintly metallic finish MOISTURE: moderate ORIGIN: Portugal SUBSTITUTE(S): fleur de sel de Guérande; fleur de sel de Camargue BEST WITH: foie gras; salt crust-baked bass; new potatoes

Sitting in the back seat of the car, about ten years old, my palms and neck are sweaty. My mind races in anticipation. After years of ogling, followed by begging and pleading—years peddling across town on a squeaky bike on reconnaissance; of lusting—I was getting a model train set. The joy! A miniature locomotive—smell the diesel, feel the devastating power of steel grinding on steel—soon would be mine, its meticulously crafted form and surprising heft clutched in my chubby hand.

So out of proportion to everything around us, such infinitesimal objects provoke the imagination to explore the cosmos of their secret charms. When I look at Flos Salis, the ten-year-old’s anticipation—the jittery sensation of raw compulsion and unchanneled imagination—comes rushing back: crystals so faint, so frail, like mountain flowers seen through a telescope from outer space.

Each crystal has a flattened scalene structure, like cubes sliced diagonally, with a color clearer than any other fleur de sel (perhaps Camargue is a rival). While this clarity is not normally something I would favor—suggesting a density and uniformity to the crystal lattice making up the salt grain—in the case of Flos Salis, it creates an eye-catching jewel-encrusted effect. Its mouthfeel on food is like adding jimmies to ice cream: neat-o, and far more satisfying than some grown-ups would like to admit out loud.

Flos Salis is tart, bright, and slightly pungent, but in an agreeable way that is thirst-provoking without being parching. As usual, the mineral content of the salt tells us a little about the quiet alchemy that drives its flavors: 0.45 percent magnesium, 0.23 percent calcium, 0.17 percent potassium, and so on.

Marisol is among the largest producers of high-quality fleur de sel anywhere, harvesting thirty tons in 2009. Flos Salis, which is handled with special care to preserve its exceptionally delicate crystals, is the brainchild of impassioned Marisol founder Nico Böer, a renaissance man who, in addition to salt making, speaks forcefully on aquatic life, real estate, sailing, agriculture, and the environment.

Ilocano Asin

ALTERNATE NAME(S): Pangasinan Star; Philippine fleur de sel MAKER(S): n/a TYPE: fleur de sel hybrid CRYSTAL: small crumpled boxes; highly irregular COLOR: dry oyster-shell FLAVOR: sun-warmed brambles; timothy grass MOISTURE: moderate ORIGIN: Philippines SUBSTITUTE(S): Sugpo Asin; fleur de sel de Guérande BEST WITH: rare, simply prepared meats: lamb carpaccio with lemon; aged porterhouse with cracked black pepper

Ilocano Asin is an exaggerated version of the classic French fleur de sel. Its lush, almost billowy crystals provide a sensuous crunch that separates it from the smaller crystals of the French fleurs de sel. Its place in the spectrum of fleurs de sel is defined by the fact that, well … it isn’t exactly a fleur de sel at all. It looks like a fleur de sel and acts like a fleur de sel, but it’s really a hybrid