Salt in the Province of Cadiz

Pink water! When the concentration of salt is very high
 the water turns pink.

Around here, salt is another traditional way to make a living, it has been since the Phoneticians and the Romans lived here.  Virgin salt, thick, wet and sticky, is really tasty.  You can find it flavored with smoke, different types of sherry,  red wine, mustard, and mushroom, to name a few.

I drive frequently back and forth from the towns of Jerez, to El Puerto de Santa Maria and Cadiz.  On my way, I can see the pink salt pools from a distance, and when you pass El Puerto de Santa Maria, there is are salt mounds on the left past the train tracks.  If you keep going to Cadiz, in San Fernando, there is a salt factory that sells delicious flavored salts.  I stopped by San Vicente salt mines, to buy some salt, and had a nice chat with one of the owners.  He took me around and even shared with me a recipe to make a gravlax version, of salt cured salmon with his smoky flavored salt.

San Vicente mines, are the only salt mines, around here, that have been working non stop since Roman times. Now with tours of different prices, from 3€ all the way to 80€, it's a gourmet tour which includes salt harvesting and dining.  They also have party rooms to celebrate wedding receptions.

If you have never cooked with sea salt, the wet sticky kind, you should try it.  It really gives your dishes a different flavor. Your fish ,potatoes, and salads, taste  better.  However, since it is sticky you cannot put it in a salt shaker, it is better to use a little salt bowl and use your hands or a little spoon.

Brand and some of the flavors. Sweet wine, muscatel, smoked, and sherry flavored salts.

Cactus in bloom at Los Toruños park by the salt pools.

If you are lucky, you can even see flamingoes bathing,
flying and feeding at los Toruños and other wetlands around the area.

Salt and colored salt used to decorate streets 
for processions around the towns of Cadiz.

Just a Pinch

When living in Sicily, I learned that a little salt sprinkled on orange slices made the fruit even sweeter.    

For the really hot summers, Sicilians drink a salty lemonade made with seltzer water, lemon juice and a pinch of salt.

A great way to prepare fish in Andalusia is "pescado a la sal", salt crusted baked fish. It seals the moisture and the fish is cooked just right. A simple sauce like fresh home made mayo is all it needs.

Chocolate with a little crunchy salt makes a great snack or dessert.

Fresh caught tuna with a pinch of "sal gorda", fat salt.  Delicious.