Hand-harvested Piran salt
Salt - the harvest dependent on the forces of nature and hands of the salt-pan workers
Piran salt with protected designation of origin is harvested according to the tradition that dates back more than 700 years.
The salt-pan workers harvest natural crystals from the pans using traditional tools. The salt is not ground; it is light and unrefined, with richer mineral composition than other salts. The flavour is not explicitly salty, but it is rich and full.
Photo: Dražen Štader, Produkcija studio
Salt is the sea that could not return to the sky.
Products of the Piranske soline brand.
Piran salt, the product of the Sečovlje Salina Nature Park, is harvested from salt-pans in pools for condensing seawater and crystallisation. The pools are covered by petola, an up to 1-centimetre thick layer of algae, gypsum and minerals preventing mud from mixing with the salt. The salt is gathered with wooden rakes and harvested by hand.
Bakala - Dried Codfish
Photo: Tomo Jeseničnik
The most precious product of the only traditional salt-pans in this part of the Adriatic is pink fleur de sel
Small white to pink pyramid-shaped crystals form on the surface of the brine only when there is no wind.
The salt-pan workers harvest fleur de sel carefully with a special net attached to a wooden frame. This is done only in special weather conditions. Piran fleur de sel boasts many minerals, and it is highly regarded among master chefs due to its special flavour and scent. It is used to enrich salads, carpaccios, seafood delicacies and dishes that are salted only on the plate. With the addition of fleur de sel, the dish acquires a special aroma of precious crystals. Experts place fleur de sel from the Slovenian coast among the best sea salts in the world.
