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Salt from Camargue, France The delta of the Rhone River, or the "Camargue" as it is known in France, is sometimes called the "French Texas" for its wild, untamed feeling. Between the channels of the Grand and Petit Rhône rivers, as they enter the Mediterranean west of Marseilles, is the Camargue delta: one of the most important wetland habitats in Europe, 50 square miles, formed of silt carried from the Swiss Alps, through rich top soil to the sea. A fragile lacework of sea and sand. Truly just a small part of France. But the Camargue is like its own little country. Once you're a few minutes south of Arles, you enter the atmosphere of the area, with its series of long, level roads criss-crossing the marshes and farmlands. The region maintains a fragile ecological balance, in which a unique collection of flora flourishes, including tamarisk and narcissi, and fauna such as pink flamingoes. Eagles, hawks and harriers soar in the blue skies and black bulls and white horses graze in the fields. Rice paddies abound, along with grain fields, orchards and even a few vineyards. Salt plains cover the southeastern corner, where the Grand Rhône flows into the sea by Salin-de-Giraud. Another salt marsh ("salin"), the Salins du Midi, is located in the southwest corner, west of the Petit Rhône, near Aigues-Mortes. In the salt marshes you'll see long lines of salt "mountains" drying in the Provencal sun, and the checkerboard salt-pans. Salt production in the Camargue began in Antiquity, by both the Greeks and the Romans, and continued through the Middle ages. Salt was used for the preservation of food and was transported along the Mediterranean coast and then inland on the "Routes du Sel" (Salt Roads), up through the Vaucluse or the mountains of the Alpes across the Col de Tende into Piedmont. Camargue Fleur de Sel crystals appear in summer on the surface of the Mediterranean salt marshes in Aigues-Mortes. Small white crystals, fruit of the sea, sun and wind, fragile and of a very high quality, Camargue Fleur de Sel crystals are harvested manually by master salt rankers, the « Paludiers ». Hand-harvested, unrefined, unbleached, and chemical-free, the fleur de sel is rich in trace elements, and very tasty. Enjoy it with raw vegetables, salads, grilled meat or fish… |
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