Fleur de Sel is a rare and expensive form of sea salt that is harvested in parts of France on the island of Ré, off France's Atlantic coast, since the seventh century. The name fleur de sel is from the French for "flower of salt," and as this implies, fleur de sel is very delicate and fluffy. Beloved by cooks, these fine, light crystals have a delicate flavor and high concentration of minerals, making them the perfect finishing salt.
Like other salts, including conventional sea salt, table salt, and kosher salt, fleur de sel is composed primarily of sodium chloride. What makes fleur de sel and other gourmet salts unique is their impurities. Traditional fleur de sel has a faintly gray color, due to the minerals which naturally occur in the areas where it is harvested, and it also has a mild but recognizable flavor. Because of the way in which it is harvested, fleur de sel is also less dense than table salt, so it has less of a salty flavor to it.
Because it forms naturally under certain very limited weather conditions, and because it must be skimmed off by hand, fleur de sel is, by any estimation, an extremely expensive product — $30 per pound or even more. It costs about 10 times more than your average sea salt and 100 times more than table salt.
The delicacy with which it is hand-harvested accounts for much of the expense. Fleur de sel floats on the surface of shallow salt water marshes and is scraped off with a special rake called a lousse à de fleur. The raking must be done carefully by hand to prevent mixing the fleur de sel with the coarse gray salt beneath it.
This high cost means that fleur de sel shouldn't be used as an ordinary seasoning. Instead, think of fleur de sel as almost a garnish or condiment. A few crystals of fleur de sel sprinkled over a dish right before serving add a burst of flavor, visual appeal and even texture.
Fleur de sel has a higher mineral content than table salt, a natural grayish hue, a moist texture and a violet-like fragrance. It is very delicate and will quickly dissolve, so it really should be added to a dish immediately before serving.
Because fleur de sel lacks an aggressive salty flavor, it is often paired with sweets for unusual desserts. Caramels lightly dusted with it are popular in France, and some consumers enjoy eating fleur de sel on ice cream or with chocolate bars for an interesting flavor experience. Fleur de sel can also be used to season delicately flavored dishes without overwhelming them with salt, and is often brought to the table in a salt cellar in fine dining establishments so that diners can season their foods to taste.
France harvests most of the world's fleur de sel, with the town of Guérande possibly being the most famous producer. Spain and Portugal also harvest variants of fleur de sel.
Fleur de sel not only tast better than most other salts, but it has also many health benefits that comes with it. Chloride and sodium ions, the two major components of salt, for example, are needed by all known living creatures in small quantities. Here are some of the health benefits of salt:
Salt provides sodium, which is necessary for life.
It helps with muscle contraction and expansion, nerve stimulation, the proper functioning of the adrenals, and other biological processes, as well.
Salt also provides chloride, which helps produce acids necessary to digest protein and enzymes for carbohydrate digestion, and is necessary for proper brain functioning and growth.
Salt contains magnesium, which is important for producing enzymes, nerve transmission, bone formation, forming tooth enamel, and resistance to heart disease, and it also contains many other trace minerals. Babies and children are in special need of salt for their developing brains.
As with all salts, fleur de sel comes with side effects. Side effects of excessive intake of fleur de sel may include:
nausea,
vomiting,
diarrhea,
stomach cramps,
thirst,
lacrimation,
sweating,
fever,
tachycardia,
hypertension,
renal dysfunction,
edema,
shortness of breath,
headache,
dizziness,
anxiety,
weakness,
twitching and muscle hypertonicity.