Salt, Portuguese "Saltcream"

Salt, Portuguese "Saltcream" Sea Salt

Saltcream is the Portuguese version of the more well known French Fleur de Sel. Both salts come from the top of the drying pile. When the saltwater evaporating in special pools starts to supersaturate out, the first blooms of salt are the first raked up, putting them on the top of the pile, which makes this salt the first to dry and gives it a lovely fluffy texture and clean white color. In France it's called "flower of salt" for the blooms it makes on the water's surface; in Portugal it's known as "salt cream" because it rises like cream to the top of the water.

The Algarve region of Portugal receives far less rainfall than Brittany, France, and consequently produces a brilliantly white crystal that is light, crumbly and delicious. The salt harvesters, or Marenotos, skim these delicate crystals formed at the top of the pan by hand, using the same wooden implements that have been used for millennia.

Just so you are aware, this is a wet sea salt not meant to be put in a regular salt grinder. It is usually used as is, as the grain size is not that large. If you do want to grind it finer, you will need to have a mill that is specially designed for wet salt, like the Peugeot Vendome salt mill.

The salt farmers in Portugal adhere to quality standards for certified organic produce and have been awarded the "Slow Food Award for the Defense of Biodiversity."

Gifts with this Spice

• Specialty Salts Gift Box

Cuisines and Categories

• Salt

Recipes with this Spice