What is the Best Gourmet Sea Salt ?

Takes Your Food From The Everyday To a Gourmet Meal
This highly prized gourmet sea salt is hand-harvested using traditional methods of hundreds of years.
The UK based Maldon Salt Company is one of only four manufacturers still producing salt in England.
Maldon sea salt is not only highly regarded by top chefs from around the world but also by health-conscious food enthusiasts.
What Makes Maldon Sea Salt Taste So Good?

Maldon sea salt pyramids
First, it is the absolutely unique texture of Maldon Sea Salt.
The flakes are huge, light and fluffy, giving an appealing crunch.
Maldon sea salt tastes like the ocean with no trace of bitterness.
Where Does Maldon Sea Salt Come From?

As the name suggests, Maldon sea salt comes from Maldon, a little town in Essex on the Blackwater estuary UK.
While locals call it by the rather unappetizing name of Maldon on the Mud, the town itself actually has a long and somewhat illustrious history involving Viking battles and Roman occupations.
As far is the sea salt is concerned, though, the important element is the water itself: the Blackwater estuary.
The estuary is the junction of the Blackwater River, which flows down from the northwest, and North Sea, which stretches from Britain to Scandinavia and continental Europe.
The sea supplies the salt, of course, but its defining characteristics come from the unique combination of salt and fresh water flowing into the estuary from both sides.
This constant influx of water from two sources provides an unusually high level of nutrients and minerals—contributing to its distinctive flavor.
The Maldon Sea Salt Story

In 2012, Maldon Sea Salt received a Royal Warrant, an honor granted only to tradespeople who supply the royal family.

How is Maldon Sea Salt Made?

Once the water is collected, it is filtered to remove seaweed, sand, and then placed in large salt pans.
The pans are heated and then cooled to remove any remaining impurities and to speed up the crystallization.
Once crystallized, the salt floats to the top of the water, where it can be raked off by hand. After draining on its own for two full days, the salt is moved to an oven and dried.
Once crystallized, the salt floats to the top of the water, where it can be raked off by hand.
After draining on its own for two full days, the salt is moved to an oven and dried.

Despite the modern methods,
Maldon Sea Salt is still produced on a fairly small scale.

The company has just eleven employees, and total production is just 700 tons a year.
Maldon sea salt can now be found on supermarket shelves throughout the UK, but despite its popularity, it isn't a mass market product.
The Maldon Crystal Salt Company doesn't package it in bulk, so it is always sold and used in small amounts.