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Here is chance to discover the
secrets that have forged the
reputation of Le Guérandais
Guérande salt: an outstanding
conservation area, a
thousand-year-old traditional
profession and a desire to share
our enthusiasm for original
salt. Read on below to learn how
simple sea salt is elevated to a
cherished ingredient.
Guérande salt
Twice a day, during the high
tides, water from the open
sea flows into the
marshes...
The salt worker opens a
valve to give it access to
the primary pond (“vasière”)...
Then, the sun, the wind, and
the salt worker’s expertise
evaporate the water until
the salt finally
crystallises in the
crystallization ponds (“oeillets”).
Here follows the astonishing
metamorphosis of a simple
drop of water into a tiny
grain of salt...
How salt is formed
The Guérande marshes are a
patchwork of ponds of varying
geometric shapes, whose
structure has been formed by the
history and topography of the
soil.
The salt works is a
production unit, a place
where the salt worker works.
In summer, at each high
tide, the salt worker opens
a hatch and fills his
“vasière” (the first
evaporation pond on the
circuit, which acts as a
reserve between tides) with
seawater. The “vasière” also
acts as a settling pond in
which particles in
suspension, carried by the
sea, will be deposited.
A slight, constant change in
level allows the water to
flow into the evaporation
ponds (the “cobier”, “fares”
and “adernes”), which act as
a daily reserve, supplying
the final set of ponds - the
“œillets”- from which the
salt is harvested. With a
salt concentration of around
25 g/l, the Atlantic Ocean
flows into the Croisic
Straits, then along a system
of channels, the “étiers”,
right to the heart of the
Guérande basin several miles
from the ocean. Once in the
“vasière”, the water will be
warmed by its long journey
through the various ponds
and it will be evaporated by
the sun and wind. In the “œillet”,
the water reaches a level of
concentration at which the
salt crystallises (280 g/l).
The work and technique of
the salt worker lies in
carefully adjusting the
water levels in the various
ponds in order to harvest
the fruit of his labour, the
famous Le Guérandais salt.
Flower of salt
In the last few years,
flower of salt
has gained a certain
reputation amongst food
lovers. Very white, with
fine, snow-like crystals and
a very slight hint of
violets, it enhances meals
by bringing out the taste of
even the finest dishes. Only
a pinch should be used on
raw or cooked food.
You’ll find examples of how
it is used, from starter to
dessert, in the RECIPES
section on our site.
Flower of salt
is harvested in the Guérande
salt marshes, late in the
afternoon during very dry
weather. Under the combined
effect of the sun and a dry
east wind, a fine skin of
crystals forms on the
surface of the “œillets”.
This skin, which is a pure
white as it has never
touched clay, is carefully
gathered by the salt workers
using a special rake known
as the “lousse à fleur”. The
very special weather
conditions and the small
quantity produced make it a
rare and much sought-after
product.
Flower of salt
has been recognized by great
chefs as a great, flavour-enhancing
treasure for many years, and
is now available to everyone
thanks to the work of Le
Guérandais.
Coarse sea salt
Guérande coarse sea salt
has always been hand-harvested
using traditional methods and is
well known for its culinary
virtues. It is
naturally grey
as it crystallises on contact
with the clay from which it
takes its high trace element
content. Less salty than
Mediterranean salt, Guérande
salt is
softer
on the palate and
richer in flavour
which makes it the salt that
cooks prefer for salting stocks
and the water used for cooking
vegetables, and also for
barbecues and meat and fish
cooked in a salt crust.
Unwashed, unrefined and
additive-free, it adds
flavour
to traditional family cooking.
Coarse salt is harvested every
day in summer when mild weather
combines
wind and sun
on the Guérande peninsula. In
the late afternoon, under the
effect of evaporation, the salt
is concentrated to a level of to
280 g/l, when it then
crystallises and is deposited on
the clay in the “œillets”. The
salt worker uses a wide wooden
rake known as a
“las”
to push the salt to the edges of
the pond. He then pulls it on to
the
“ladure”,
a round platform made of clay,
where it is left for the night
to drain. Next day, the salt
worker uses a wooden wheelbarrow
to carry the 60 kg of salt per
“œillet” to the large stockpile
of salt known as the
“mulon”.
With its
traditional, environmentally
friendly harvesting method,
Le Guérandais Guérande Salt has
become the
market leader
for original salts.
Ground salt and flavoured
salts
Fine salt (or ground salt)
is made from coarse salt,
which is dried, then
crushed.
It is not processed,
whitened or refined and
retains the pleasure of an
authentic salt. Rich in
magnesium and trace
elements, it is ideal for
every type of use in the
kitchen and on the table.
With
Le Guérandais
in all its forms (coarse
salt, flower of salt, fine
salt), gourmets have a whole
range of flavours to choose
from.
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Salt |
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Coarse salt
This traditional sea salt is
naturally grey and guaranteed
unwashed, unrefined and
additive-free.
Rich in magnesium and trace
elements,
Le Guérandais
Coarse Guérande Salt offers
flavours ideal for traditional
family cooking. You can use it
for cooking all your dishes
(pasta, vegetables), meat and
fish in a salt crust, stocks and
barbecues |
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Fine or ground salt
Le Guérandais
fine Guérande salt is an
unrefined product that is simply
dried and crushed to retain the
pleasure of an authentic salt.
Rich in magnesium and trace
elements, it is ideal for every
type of use in the kitchen and
on the table. |
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Flower of salt
Le Guérandais
Flower of Guérande Salt is
harvested with great care by the
Guérande salt workers from the
surface of the crystallisation
ponds, using skills and a method
that are over a thousand years
old. Flower of salt is naturally
white, rare and of an
outstanding quality.
Its crystals are left uncrushed
and unwashed to retain their
naturally high quantity of trace
elements.
The incomparable flavour of
Le Guérandais
Flower of Guérande Salt is
particularly popular with
gourmets and chefs. |
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Flavoured salts
:
Fine Guérande Salt has also
been developed in three delicate
flavours:
With herbs:
it develops all the scents of
the bouquet of aromatic plants
that are added to it. It is
ideal for seasoning
vinaigrettes, vegetables and
barbecues.
With seaweed:
with a subtle mix of three types
of seaweed to give it a flavour
of the sea, this salt will add
delicate aromas to fish,
shellfish, soups, sauces or even
fish stocks.
With vegetables:
added at the end of cooking or
used as a seasoning, it will
delicately flavour all your
vegetables, cooked, in salads or
served raw. This subtle mix goes
particularly well with tomato
juices, pasta, rice, soups and
sauces. |
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