My Salty Friend

My friend Elie (co-owner with her husband, Ali, of the locally famed and extraordinary KooKoo cafe) and I seem to have this obsession connection over salt. I gave her some fleur de sel that I picked up in Brussels. She introduced me to Maldon salt. In fact it seems we both always have some newly discovered container of salt in our bags just in case we might bump into each other.

Well, yesterday Elie bestowed upon me yet another version of this crunchy and required element to my food. Having just returned from a trip to London to visit family, Elie gave me the sweetest jar of salt.

(please excuse the lousy photo from my phone)

This salt happens to be 100% Guerande Salt, or grey salt. 'Champagne of the sea salt'. Here's what I found on the interwebnet thingy:

The mineral rich french grey sea salt harvested by traditional celtic methods in the coastal area of Guérande, Brittany, France is cherished for its exceptional quality and fine taste. The unrefined Guérande grey sea salt is of a light grey colour because of the fine clay from the salt flats. (photo below) Some say it is probably the best sea salt on the planet. With nothing added and nothing removed, just the way nature intended.

Le Paludier sea salt from Guérande is not harvested by machine but by "paludiers" (traditional celtic salt-harvesters: see photo to left) who harvest this fine "fruit of the ocean, sun & wind" for all to enjoy.

Le Paludier Sea Salt from Guérande is available in two forms: coarse crystals or fine stoneground. Le Paludier grey sea salt from Guérande is certified by "Nature et Progres" (European mark of exceptional quality and purity) to be 100% *natural (*no additives), harvested and processed by Organic methods, unrefined, and free of pesticides, herbicides, and chemicals.

This is the highest and most stringent level of certification allowed for salt. Fleur De Sel de Guérande: "the champagne of sea salt" , is a very special sea salt. Delicate and exquisite fine moist granules of whitish-grey sea salt are traditionally harvested (mostly by women) by skimming the surface of the sea water of the salt marshes. From Guérande, France.

Who knew? Mostly harvested by women. Delicate. Exquisite. And one can only imagine the centuries-old traditions that go into both harvesting and celebrating this stuff. And frankly, a sprinkle on top of anything, including a kid's finger, makes the flavor go 'kerpow'.

It's kerpow salt. Really.

A thousand thanks, Elie, for your saltiness sweetness!!!