Details
As saltwater evaporates in special pools, the first blooms of salt are raked up and piled which makes this the first salt to dry, giving 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 less rainfall than Brittany, France, and consequently produces a brilliantly white crystal that is light, crumbly and delicious. Salt harvesters hand-skim these delicate crystals formed at the top of the pan, using the same wooden implements that have been used for millennia. This is a wet sea salt and not intended to be put in a regular salt grinder. It is usually used as-is since the grain size is miniscule.