THE SALT MARSHES
The island's salt marshes, 1,600 years of tradition, passionate salt makers and artisanal salt harvesting.
There are many salt marshes on the island. Visit them from summer to early autumn, observe the ancestral gestures of the salt workers or stop by the salt huts along the roads to buy your salt. Here is the history of the island's salt marshes... In the5th century, Benedictine monks transformed the wetlands into salt marshes. In the 18th century, the salt trade flourished and a third of the island was devoted to the exploitation of the marshes. Today, there are about a hundred salt workers on the island, with a potential of about 3,000 carnations. About 1,500 tons of sea salt are harvested in an average year. This white gold is harvested by hand, respecting 1,600 years of tradition. The sea water circulates through a network of channels and basins that are meticulously maintained, until it reaches the "œillet" (a small basin of sea water created by the salt-maker, with a clay bottom, where the salt is deposited). Thanks to evaporation, the concentration of salt intensifies throughout a slow 48-hour process, rising from 35 g/l to 300 g/l. Under the action of the sun and the wind, the water reaches saturation. The salt crystallizes and covers the clay bottom of the eyelet. With a regular gesture, the salt grower then gently pulls it towards the edge of the eyelet, using a spoon. The small piles formed are called mulons. Gently picked with the lousse (a kind of skimmer), this is the fleur de sel. It is then placed in baskets to dry in the sun. Crystallized on the surface of the water, it has a unique whiteness and taste.
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