Only a few days left to go before the end of April Squares so I thought I’d share something rather different today, using the idiom ‘Under the Big Top’.

topping 2

Have you worked out what it is? If not take another look at the header as that is a big clue! It is salt. Salt, and in particular the flor de sal, was once Portugal’s white gold and essential to many economic treaties. topping 1It can only be harvested by hand. However in modern times salt-making is not as lucrative as it once was, and consequently many of Portugal’s traditional salterns have fallen into decline, and those that remain are mostly harvested by machines. However you will still find commercially active salterns in the Algarve, producing flor de sal. If you want to learn more about this white gold click here to visit a post I wrote a couple of years ago on my Portuguese blog. by the way none of the salt in these pics is flor de sal. It just left overs from the harvest!

114 thoughts

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  3. No squares for me today because I wanted to show the full beauty of the landscape in my walk, but I’ve included a link because it’s highly relevant. 🙂 🙂 Back tomorrow to join in. Have a good day!

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    1. Do, love to see how yours is produced. Each country seems to have a favourite way, or at least a way which reflects the environment and weather!

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  13. Curious to learn more about the white gold – and nice photos of salt…
    We sometimes carry a container of Celtic salt with us and put a small piece under the tongue – got the idea from a health coach – and it goes right into the lymph that way – and we like doing that
    Anyhow – not all salt is created equal – that’s for sure

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    2. Some certainly do . . . .thanks to the increased presence of minerals, which is why it tends to be sprinkled on at the end of cooking (plus it is expensive!)

      Also as Jo says crunchy thanks to the size of the flakes.

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