Maldon Sea Salt

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570g plastic tub Maldon Salt tub.jpg
570g plastic tub

Maldon Crystal Salt Company Limited, [1] trading as Maldon Salt, is a salt-producing company in Maldon on the high-salinity banks of the River Blackwater in Essex, England. The river is favoured by flat tide-washed salt marshes and low rainfall.

Contents

History

Sea salt production in the coastal town of Maldon dates back to the time of Roman Britain when clay-lined salt evaporation ponds were constructed, and according to the Domesday Book, 45 lead pans were used to manufacture salt there in 1086. [2]

The Maldon Salt Company was founded under its current name in 1882, having previously been part of a local coal firm. [3] In the 1990s and early 2000s, Maldon's salt grew in popularity after being used by prominent chefs including Ruth Rogers, Delia Smith, and Jamie Oliver. [4]

Salt

Flakes and pyramid chunks Maldon Sea Salt Flakes.png
Flakes and pyramid chunks

Maldon Sea Salt is made on a large scale by evaporating brine over an elaborate network of modern gas fired brick flues. At one time crystal drying was by woodburning stove and later by industrial oven before the use of a Rube Goldbergian oscillator was introduced. In 2017 it was said that inverted pyramid-shaped crystals prevented the salt from caking, and the resulting flakes from their breakdown were used as a finishing salt. [4]

The company claims that the salt's low magnesium content means it has less of a bitter aftertaste than other salts. [4] Salt gained from evaporating sea water has a higher magnesium ion content than some table salts. [5]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salt (chemistry)</span> Chemical compound involving ionic bonding

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brine</span> Concentrated solution of salt in water

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Red Hill is an archaeological term in Britain for a small mound with a reddish colour found in the coastal and tidal river areas of East Anglia and Essex. Red Hills are formed as a result of generations of salt making, deriving their colour from the rubble of clay structures used in the salt-making process that have been scorched red by fires used to evaporate sea water to make salt cakes. They date from the Bronze Age, Iron Age and into the Roman period.

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References

  1. "Maldon Crystal Salt Company Limited overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House . 19 June 1926. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  2. Finney, Clare (23 October 2018). "Clear as crystal: the decades-old traditions of Maldon sea salt". foodism.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  3. "About Us". Maldon Salt. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Paumgarten, Nick (31 March 2017). "The History of Maldon Salt, the Stuff You Already Put on Everything". Bon Appétit. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  5. "Ziste der Spurenelemente und Mineralien im natürlichen Meersalz" . Retrieved 10 December 2022.

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