Salinas de la Concepció to immortalise the total solar eclipse with a limited edition of fleur de sel

On 12 August, the Salinas de la Concepció, Menorca’s only active saltworks, will transform an exceptional astronomical phenomenon into a once-in-a-lifetime harvest. Coinciding with the total solar eclipse that will darken the island’s sky for 66 seconds, the team of salt workers will hand-harvest the fleur de sel formed at that very moment to create a limited edition of only 250 numbered containers.

The initiative is not intended to create a new product, but rather to preserve the memory of a unique moment in the history of the saltworks. “We did not want to create a product for the eclipse. We wanted to preserve the harvest from that day,” Sal de Menorca explains. The fleur de sel will continue to form entirely naturally, thanks solely to the sea, the wind and the sun. What will make this edition exceptional is the moment at which it is harvested.

For more than 170 years, the work of the salt workers has been governed by the rhythms of nature. Every harvest day is different, shaped by the wind, temperature, humidity and intensity of the light. For this reason, the harvest of 12 August will remain forever linked to an extraordinary astronomical phenomenon that is unlikely to be repeated under similar circumstances.

The salt will be harvested according to the traditional process, using the lousse, the long-handled sieve that has been used for generations to delicately lift the fine layer of crystals that forms on the surface of the crystallisation ponds. The fleur de sel will then be left to drain in esparto-grass baskets and dried exclusively by the sun and wind, without washing or additives, preserving its traditional artisanal process intact.

The edition will consist of 250 containers of 150 grams, each one individually numbered by hand and identified with the harvest date, place of origin and batch number, making every unit a unique piece. The first boxes will be dispatched during the week following the eclipse, once the product has completed its natural drying process. Pre-orders are already open.

As with all fleur de sel production, this edition will depend entirely on nature. If the weather conditions on the day of the eclipse do not allow the crystals to form, the special harvest will not be possible and the team will have to wait for another extraordinary phenomenon before attempting it again.

Those interested can reserve this limited edition through the initiative’s dedicated page: https://saldemenorca.com/pages/edicion-eclipse. The entire preparation of the harvest can also be followed at https://saldemenorca.com and on the Instagram profile @sal_de_menorca, where updates will be shared during the days leading up to the event and at the very moment of the harvest during the eclipse.