Like any jewel, fleur de sel is both rare and valuable and all because this is in the end, the finest sea salt that is made from the fragile and delicate first crystals that form on the surface like a curd of fine white pieces that break up easily when the perfect conditions come together: the sun, the heat and the wind.
Although these have always existed, perhaps due to their fragility and the requirements of their harvesting – always by hand – only recently have their gastronomic properties been acknowledged thanks to a world that is more alert to and hungry for new products.
Therefore, when chefs are looking for a product with a fine and unprocessed structure with a cultivation that obeys the guidelines for environmentally friendly products, it was France that gave them fleur de sel. Then gradually, to the rest of the world with all of its exceptional sites for the production of salt as in the case of Castro Marim.
Used as the final touch for dishes that have already been prepared such as salads, roasted meats, vegetables, desserts, fleur de sel adds an irresistible tang that is accompanied by a slow dissolving that brings out the flavours of food.
Sim. Embora o seu nome possa remeter para o universo botânico (porque os seus cristais perecem formar desenhos de pequenas flores), a flor de sal é uma versão de sal mais leve e delicada; a camada de frágeis cristais - designada de coalho – que, nas salinas, se forma à superfície da água durante o processo de evaporação.
É rica em sais minerais e nutrientes e colhida através de um processo artesanal, em tudo compatível com o que certifica os produtos biológicos.
Algumas pistas facilitam o reconhecimento deste tipo de sal.
São elas:
Experimente temperar a mousse de chocolate com flor de sal, e a sua perceção do chocolate nunca mais será a mesma, já que esta, mais do que salgar, intensifica o sabor.