12/11/2020
Fleur de Sel:
is a salt that forms as a thin, delicate crust on the surface of seawater as it evaporates.
The name comes from the flower-like patterns of crystals in the salt crust.
It is now used as a finishing salt to flavor and garnish food.
Some salt crystals float on the surface of the water, forming a delicate crust of intricate pyramidal crystals. This is fleur de sel. The delicacy requires that it be harvested by hand, so this is done with traditional m**hods using traditional woodtools.
Fleur de sel can only be collected when it is very sunny, dry, and with slow, steady winds. Because of the nature of its formation, fleur de sel is produced in small quantities.
This m**hod of salt formation and collection results in salt crystals that are not uniform. The salt also has a much higher amount of moisture than common salt, allowing the crystals to stick together in snowflake-like forms, what has been described as the flavor of the sea.
Uses:
Only about 5% of salt is used for cooking, but fleur de sel is only used to flavor food. It is not used in place of salt during the cooking process, instead, it is added just before serving, like a garnish, a "finishing salt," to boost the flavor of eggs, fish, meat, vegetables, chocolate, and caramel.
From wikipedia.org