Fleur de sel SALT

[mignardise]

Which name brand is a decent one to buy?

[Patrick S]

Maldon is good -- there was an article not too long ago in Slate magazine testing a bunch of salts, and I think they picked Maldon as their winner.

[achevres]

I second Maldon salt.

[Tess]

Maldon is good -- there was an article not too long ago in Slate magazine testing a bunch of salts, and I think they picked Maldon as their winner.

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I love Maldon but it's not fleur de sel, is it?

My house fds is an inexpensive Portuguese alternative called "salt cream" or something which I get from The Spice House. It is clearly not on a par with the French stuff though. I think the one I like best has "Fleur de Sel de Camargue" on the label but it may have another brand name too.

[Brasco66]

Maldon...hands down.

You'll love the flakes and it's free flowing!

[Fat Guy]

I love Maldon but it's not fleur de sel, is it?

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No, it is not.

[Busboy]

Maldon is good -- there was an article not too long ago in Slate magazine testing a bunch of salts, and I think they picked Maldon as their winner.

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I love Maldon but it's not fleur de sel, is it?

My house fds is an inexpensive Portuguese alternative called "salt cream" or something which I get from The Spice House. It is clearly not on a par with the French stuff though. I think the one I like best has "Fleur de Sel de Camargue" on the label but it may have another brand name too.

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I believe the brand is "Baleine," and it is great stuff. Among my stupid parental moves is to get two kids to where they don't thing the fried potatoes taste right unless they have fleur du sel on them.

If Maldon is free-flowing and flaky, it's very different from the fds I'm used to.

[hjshorter]

Baleine comes in two varieties, gros and fin. I use the fine stuff for baking and cooking and the larger crystals from sprinkling.

I am also partial to Halen Môn, a Welsh sea salt with large pure white crystals and Esprit du Sel, a gray fleur de sel from the Ile de Ré.

Edited December 14, 2006 by hjshorter (log)

[Brasco66]

Maldon is good -- there was an article not too long ago in Slate magazine testing a bunch of salts, and I think they picked Maldon as their winner.

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I love Maldon but it's not fleur de sel, is it?

My house fds is an inexpensive Portuguese alternative called "salt cream" or something which I get from The Spice House. It is clearly not on a par with the French stuff though. I think the one I like best has "Fleur de Sel de Camargue" on the label but it may have another brand name too.

←

I believe the brand is "Baleine," and it is great stuff. Among my stupid parental moves is to get two kids to where they don't thing the fried potatoes taste right unless they have fleur du sel on them.

If Maldon is free-flowing and flaky, it's very different from the fds I'm used to.

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Maldon...as Fat Guy has pointed out is not fds...however it is a very good quality sea salt used by many chefs as a finishing salt due to its unique flaky crystals.

[Brasco66]

04:23 PM]

Which name brand is a decent one to buy?

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Edited December 14, 2006 by Brasco66 (log)

[Tess]

If Maldon is free-flowing and flaky, it's very different from the fds I'm used to.

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I think fleur de sel is a lot moister. It's good layered with butter to spread on stuff.

In case the OP is actually interested in sea salt more generally, I do join in the recommendation of Maldon. If I could keep only one finishing salt, it would be that. I am also a big fan of pink Hawaiian salt-- not the red, not the black but the traditional "alaea" salt sold all over Hawaii.

[Marco_Polo]

Fleur de sel is traditionally harvested by skimming off from the top of the salt pans the flaky, friable, crumbly layer of salt as it crystalises by evaporation but before it forms heavier, larger crystals that precipitate and fall to the bottom of the salt pan (these are raked out separately). The most famous French fleur de sel comes from the ancient salt pans of Guérande in Brittany.

Maldon sea salt, from Essex, England, is made by a different process (the salt pans are heated rather than evaporated naturally by wind and sun), though the result is similar, flaky and friable. It's also one of my favourite salts.

Fleur de sel is quite different from any old garden variety sea salt - Baleine I think comes from the Camargue and neither the gros nor fine versions are true fleur de sel.

Flor de sal from the Algarve has the great virtue of being stunningly white, unlike the French sel gris from Guérande. It is an outstanding naturally harvested sea salt that is also considerably cheaper than the highly touted French equivalent that has become such a favourite with chefs and connoisseurs.

Here's a story about flor de sal that I researched and wrote a few years ago (first published in Slow - the journal of Slow Food).

Marc

[fanny_the_fairy]

I am an addict of Le Saunier fleur de sel.

And no, Maldon isn't fleur de sel; though I use it on a regular basis because of its delicate taste and high salting power.

- fanny

[FoodMan]

I am an addict of Le Saunier fleur de sel.

And no, Maldon isn't fleur de sel; though I use it on a regular basis because of its delicate taste and high salting power.

- fanny

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Yeap, that's the one I use BUT only as finishing salt of course. Using it in cooking (like M. Chiarello does with Maldon) is just wasteful. Kosher salt is more than enough for that.

[mignardise]

Maybe I should've mentioned what to sprinkle on chocolate?

Since it's the craze now, thought I'd join in.

[Tess]

Here's a story about flor de sal  that I researched and wrote a few years ago (first published in Slow - the journal of Slow Food).

Marc

Oh, that's a cool story.

Salt for sprinkling on chocolate? Pink salt or smoked salt would come to mind, but the possibilities are endless.

The only Vosges chocolate bars I really like contain pink Himalayan salt and grey salt.

[Shaya]

Like Foodman and Fanny, I love my Camargue de Saunier. For finishing of course.

Edited December 14, 2006 by Shaya (log)

[Sararwelch]

I have Penzey's fleur de sel. I just picked up some smoked sea salt at Dean and Deluca - now that's some good stuff!

[filipe]

One of the best fleur de sel's I've tried is portuguese but I had to go to London to buy it, at Oliviers & Co.. It's common Algarve's fleur de sel, from Ria Formosa, but really moisty and very pure

[hjshorter]

I have Penzey's fleur de sel. I just picked up some smoked sea salt at Dean and Deluca - now that's some good stuff!

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What do you use it on? Truffle salt on poached eggs is one of my current obsessions.

[Patrick S]

Maldon is good -- there was an article not too long ago in Slate magazine testing a bunch of salts, and I think they picked Maldon as their winner.

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I love Maldon but it's not fleur de sel, is it?

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You're right of course. In my experience though a lot of people use the term "fleur de sel" (technically) as a synonym for sea salt, since that's what fleur de sel is, just as many people refer to all sparkling wines as Champagne, and not just those produced in Champagne, France. Sorry if I confused things.

mignardise, here is the article from Slate: Worth One's SaltFrom fleur de sel to kosher, which salt is best?. In their ratings, the Maldon won 4/5 of the tests of the 9 salts they tried, including 2 varieties of sea salt.

[mignardise]

Thanks....... Patrick S

[Abbey]

Which name brand is a decent one to buy?

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Can you get Murray River Gourmet Salt Flakes from Australia?

They are a gorgeous pink flake, awesome salt!

[butterscotch]

Hal Mon Welsh Smoked salt....Lovely on chocolate. may i suggest melting the chocolate on a piece of toast sprinkled with walnut oil and then the Hale Mon crystals.

Idea stolen from Fernan Adria, who used Olive Oil.

Maybe I should've mentioned what to sprinkle on chocolate?

Since it's the craze now, thought I'd join in.

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