Salt and salt products like cosmetics, herbs, chocolate…
What they say in the Piranske Soline
Piran salt
PIRANSKA SALT with a protected designation of origin (PDO) is produced according to a confirmed traditional process, according to a tradition that is more than 700 years old and only with traditional tools. The basic process is natural crystallization in salt fields, where salt is collected on a few millimeters thick base of biosediment called petola, consisting of minerals and microorganisms.
The salt crop depends solely on the forces of nature – the sun, wind, sea and the hard work of the salt workers. The salt from the Sečovel salt pans is light and has an extraordinary taste, which adds culinary excellence to dishes. In 2005, the company successfully passed the certification of Bureau Veritas, the authorized certification house of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, for a premium product with many years of tradition – PIRANSK SALT with geographical origin. In 2014, the European Commission approved the entry of Piran salt into the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications, which represents the highest level of protection in the European scheme for the protection of agricultural products and foodstuffs. With this, PIRANSKA SALT acquired the PROTECTED DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN (PDO) at the level of the European Union and thus placed itself alongside world-famous products such as champagne, Parma ham, Parmesan cheese and Istrian olive oil.
All the processes of its production, processing and preparation for the market are linked to the geographical area. In order to be labeled with a geographical indication, they must meet two conditions: firstly, all production, processing and preparation for the market must take place within the specific geographical area whose name the product bears and secondly, the product must have characteristics that are the result of natural or human factors of the specific geographical area environment. This means that the product must differ from a related product in terms of production or composition, that the prescribed production rules must be observed and that the product is subject to strict control by the certification body.
PIRANKA SALT with a protected designation of origin (PDO) is unground, light, unrefined, its extraordinary taste is complemented by the mother water trapped in the crystals, and on average it has a richer mineral composition than other salts. The shape of the crystals gives it a specific taste, which is not particularly salty, as in other types, but is extremely rich and full. It is intended for people who value tradition and swear by natural eating. Modern cuisine is increasingly returning to the original form of salt – natural crystals – a form that is as old as salt production. It is used in dishes where the preparation does not affect the original taste, but adds a touch of the region from where it comes.
Salt flower
The most valuable product of the Piran salt pans is the salt flower, whose tiny pyramidal crystals of white to pink color only form when there is no wind, as they are disturbed by even the slightest wave. When the time comes to pick the salt flower, the salt workers gently pick them in a thin layer on the surface of the salt fields with the greatest love with a specially adapted net that is attached to a wooden frame. Because the salt flower of the Piran salt pans is characterized by a large amount of minerals and a particularly pronounced taste and smell, culinary experts recognize that it surpasses the range in quality in the world of numbered varieties “la fleur de sel.”
That is why gourmets and original cuisines are increasingly recognizing and using it as an indispensable addition, which with its taste harmoniously complements dishes that are only salted on the plate. This is the only way the dish acquires the taste and slight aroma of these fragile crystals. We put the salt flower in the foreground on our dining table, as we do with the best extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Among connoisseurs, it is gaining a position as one of the best sea salts in the world, and due to the long tradition of production, the small area in which it is produced with a lot of work, it takes on a very special character in modern cuisine.
Source: www.soline.si