Sel gris
Encyclopedia
Sel gris is a coarse granular sea salt
popularized by the French.
Sel gris comes from the same solar evaporation salt pans
as fleur de sel
but is harvested differently; it is allowed to come into contact with the bottom of the salt pan before being raked, whence its gray color. Sel gris is coarser than fleur de sel but is also a moist salt, typically containing 13 percent residual moisture.
salts, there is a lot more salt in an equivalent volume of sel gris.
Because it is a moist salt, it does not suck all the moisture out of food when used as a finishing salt, unlike kosher salt (which is designed to absorb blood and other fluids from meat). Selmeliers
tend to pair sels gris with heartier foods like steak and root vegetables due to their mineral complexity.
Sea salt
Sea salt, salt obtained by the evaporation of seawater, is used in cooking and cosmetics. It is historically called bay salt or solar salt...
popularized by the French.
Sel gris comes from the same solar evaporation salt pans
Salt evaporation pond
Salt evaporation ponds, also called salterns or salt pans, are shallow artificial ponds designed to produce salts from sea water or other brines. The seawater or brine is fed into large ponds and water is drawn out through natural evaporation which allows the salt to be subsequently harvested...
as fleur de sel
Fleur de sel
Fleur de sel is a hand-harvested sea salt collected by workers who scrape only the top layer of salt before it sinks to the bottom of large salt pans...
but is harvested differently; it is allowed to come into contact with the bottom of the salt pan before being raked, whence its gray color. Sel gris is coarser than fleur de sel but is also a moist salt, typically containing 13 percent residual moisture.
Harvesting
The bottom of the salt pan (French oeillet) may be composed of clay, basalt, sand, concrete, or even tile. This keeps the salt from coming into contact with the silt beneath and becoming dirty. Every few days or even daily, the harvester (French paludier) pushes or pulls the salt with a long wooden rake. This must be done carefully as the depth of the brine may be as little as ¼ inch and the clay bottom must not be penetrated at the risk of contaminating the salt. The salt is raked toward the sides of the pan where it is then shoveled into a pile and left to dry slightly before storing. 90 to 165 pounds of sel gris can be harvested in one day, whereas for fleurs de sel the daily yield is only 4.5 to 6.6 pounds.Use
Because of its mineral complexity and coarse grain size, sel gris can be used both as a cooking salt and a finishing salt. Being much denser than table and kosherKosher salt
Koshering salt, usually referred to as kosher salt in the US, is a variety of edible salt with a much larger grain size than some common table salt...
salts, there is a lot more salt in an equivalent volume of sel gris.
Because it is a moist salt, it does not suck all the moisture out of food when used as a finishing salt, unlike kosher salt (which is designed to absorb blood and other fluids from meat). Selmeliers
Selmelier
A selmelier is a trained and knowledgeable professional specializing in culinary salt and its use in cooking and restaurant service.-Etymology:...
tend to pair sels gris with heartier foods like steak and root vegetables due to their mineral complexity.
Examples
Most producers of fleur de sel also produce sel gris.- Sel gris de GuerandeGuérandeThe medieval town of Guérande is located in the département of Loire-Atlantique in western France.The inhabitants are so called Guérandais, for men, and Guérandaise, for women....
- Sel gris de l’Ile de ReÎle de RéÎle de Ré is an island off the west coast of France near La Rochelle, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait....
- Sel gris de l’Ile de NoirmoutierÎle de NoirmoutierThe island of Noirmoutier is off the Atlantic coast of France in the Vendée department.Parts of the island have been reclaimed from the sea. In 2005 it served as the finish of the Tour de France prologue....
- Grigio di CerviaCerviaCervia is a town and comune in the province of Ravenna , central Italy.-History:Originally called Ficocle, it was probably of Greek origin and was located midway from current Cervia and Ravenna...
- Alcochete sal grosso