Virtuoso Life - March/April 2008 - (Page 74) GLOBAL GOURMET has changed. In the fifteenth century, when Venice bid to rule the world through commerce, salt was one of its top products, and Cyprus its main supplier. Today, Cyprus flake comes in stunningly intricate pyramids about a centimeter wide, making it the finishing salt most likely to awe your guests. From $8 at www.salttraders.com Fleur de Sel “Flower of salt” is the French term for the foamy blooms of flakes that appear on the surface of salt paddies. The white blooms are raked off the water using long wooden tools and dried in the sun. The refined flavor and texture make fleur de sel one of the great table salts. $22 at www.deandeluca.com Maldon Considered the finest flake salt by many experts due to its tiny, flyweight pyramid crystals, Maldon is made on England’s southeast coast on the site of a medieval saltworks, using seawater taken on the spring tide and evaporated in steel pans over fire. The town of Maldon has been a center of salt production since at least 1086, when 45 salt pans were listed in the area. Today just one company, Maldon Crystal Salt, remains. From $6.25 at www.salttraders.com Murray River This Australian flake salt is flamingo pink, with good reason. Pink and red salt ponds appear around the world, their color caused by the presence of salt-loving microorganisms. The pigment is a carotenoid that helps the microorganisms withstand intense sunlight. In some places, brine shrimp feed on this plankton, which turns them pink. When flamingos feed on the brine shrimp, their primary food, they too turn pink. Murray River salt’s fragile flakes provide the perfect crunch, making them screamingly good on raw radishes or sliced tomatoes. $15.99 at www.seasalt.com Salt Island Available only at the source, this off-white salt has a snowflake’s softness and adds the unmistakable liveliness of the sea to food. It’s still hand-harvested by Henry White. STAY » Salt Island salt features prominently in the 75-minute Body Re-mineralizer wrap at Peter Island Resort’s spa. Four miles south of Tortola, the largest private island in the British Virgin Islands features 52 rooms a short boat ride from Henry White’s homestead. Guests can cruise Salt Island’s shores Flavor profile (from left): Sel gris with herbs, Maldon sea salt, and sel gris with seaweed. on a daylong snorkel outing to Virgin Gorda or charter a yacht to explore neighboring coastlines on their own. Doubles from $575, including all meals and one champagne lunch for two. Snorkel outing from $125; private yacht charters from $750 to $2,000. 74 V I RT U O S O L I F E http://www.salttraders.com http://www.seasalt.com http://www.salttraders.com http://www.deandeluca.com
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