International
For a pinch of salt
Long synonymous with wealth, expansion and power for those who mastered its production, salt has been mined since prehistoric times. Its many properties have enabled it to remain both an everyday essential and a precious raw material for many cutting-edge industries.
Salt is the common name for sodium chloride (NaCl), a mineral of marine origin present in water when the Earth was still covered by oceans. It was deposited in layers of sediment with each retreat of the sea. An inexhaustible commodity, it is found in abundance in nature, but unevenly distributed and in different forms - as a rock buried in the ground, or as a liquid dissolved in the sea. it's one of the first raw materials that man has extracted and used massively in all aspects of his life," emphasizes Raphaël Haumont, lecturer and researcher at Paris Sud-Paris Saclay University and co-founder of the French Center for Culinary Innovation (CFIC). Salt, which has taken millions of years to produce, is fascinating in this sense, as it is a matter of life and survival. In particular, it regulates water in cells and is a precious source of life. "
The exploitation of salt depends on a variety of techniques corresponding to the different forms the mineral takes. Most often, salt is extracted by subjecting it to natural or artificial evaporation until it crystallizes, a phenomenon that occurs when the density of salt is around 330 grams per liter. Natural brine is thus transformed into salt. Throughout history, societies have combined these operations according to their own technical systems: briquetting in the early Iron Age, Gallic salt furnaces and salt marshes and salt pans dating from the Middle Ages and even Roman times.
This article is taken from Gault&Millau, le magazine #7. Find the latest issue on newsstands or in our online store.
These news might interest you
The history of crème brûlée and our best addresses
A lightly crunchy caramelized surface, crème brûlée sometimes invites fantasy. Traditionally made with vanilla, Chefs are not lacking in imagination when it comes to offering multiple variations. Gault&Millau shares its history and the best addresses of the moment.
Solar salt workers
For nearly a decade, Matthieu Le Chantoux has been producing and harvesting salt in the Mès basin, in the picturesque setting of the Guérande salt marshes. An independent salt worker and producer-harvester, he launched L'Atelier du Sel in 2013 with his uncle, then continued the business with Hughes Martineau, his cousin. In keeping with the tradition of salt workers, ancestral gestures and know-how are perpetuated, as is the pride of offering a natural product harvested by hand, using artisanal methods.
Our partners
Food products, kitchen equipment, tableware, service solutions...
See the full list of partners who place their trust in Gault&Millau
All our partners
