Salt is part of the history of humanity, of commerce, of gastronomy. It is past, present and future.
And in your day to day, how do you use salt? We propose a test before the report on the »Salinas Bocacangrejo».
Salt for dessert ... natural wet salt or fleur de sel?
Salt for the day to day… salt flakes or virgin sea salt?
Salt to give a crunchy texture… fleur de sel or salt flakes?
Salt to enhance flavor ... virgin sea salt or wet natural salt?
Read on to discover the secrets that Bocacangrejo holds. Salinas that are a family business and have been operating since 1889. Nadia Martina and Rafael Martel share a love of the world of the salt flats and both strive to maintain and improve it.
Why bet on the salt flats?
To offer an unbeatable product. We are not betting on the past but on something that has always been done and that has a place in the present. We continue to work the salt flats of yesteryear but we do not do it in the same way.
Salt, is it healthy?
And it is necessary for human life. What happens is that it is not profitable to sell quality salt and that is why there are no interest groups that invite people to consume quality salt.
What is the minimum level to establish that a salt is of quality?
The quality salt is the one that has a minimum process and this is manual. Industrial salt mines, for example, put the salt through a treatment where it interferes to speed everything up, and this results in refined salt. The properties that salt originally brought are lost along the way, such as iodine, which is one of the elements that the body needs to avoid many diseases. So then they add it to them. It is paradoxical because what the salt originally had is lost and then added back artificially.
What is the manual process used in Bocacangrejo?
Currently the water no longer enters by tide but comes through wells connected to the sea, 50 meters deep and 20 meters from the beach. That water goes directly to the cooker.
What is a cooker?
Cookers are like swimming pools. There the temperature rises a lot and the water begins to evaporate, concentrating the salt. The 37 grams per cubic meter that sea water has is multiplied by 10. Then, by means of ditches and twists, the water is carried to the cuttings, evaporating even faster with the help of the wind and the sun. This is how the grain begins to curdle in the water. And the salinero works it.
What does the salinero do?
He observes it, drags it - expertly - without touching the bottom so as not to damage the waterproof film. When he sees that the salt is there, he takes it out, sweeping it by hand, and is taken by wheelbarrow to the warehouse. It is cleaned by hand, removing the pinches and then it is passed through a sieve, to separate the grain. The first thing that falls is virgin sea salt.
Is each sea obtained a different salt?
The water of the Mediterranean Sea compared to that of the Atlantic Ocean can vary in its composition by a gram or so of salt. This does not affect too much. What does influence is the area, the environment ... due to the characteristics of the soil and other elements.
Our Atlantic salt is different in Janubio, Fuencaliente or here. There are three islands in the same archipelago and when you compare, with the naked eye, you can see different grains and consistencies.
How important is the role of the salinero?
The salinero is something essential. It plays a very important role. It doesn't just sweep up the salt and collect it. Maintains the salt flats, mud, pits. These salt flats are called "old mud salt flats", where the pit is covered around with a rock edge, giving rise to the mareta.
Salineros must also know the wind, the rain. With rain there is no salt because fresh water falls and we must stop production for 2 to 3 weeks. Until the rainwater evaporates, the pits cannot be filled with salty water. Here, in the Canary Islands, there is no season compared to other areas of Spain.
How do you learn to be a salinero?
With another salinero. There was a time when a course was held in Santa Lucía de Tirajana but it was something exceptional.
Is the landscape what is most valuable here?
Salt is our white gold. Of course, the natural environment and the surrounding landscape is very valuable but if the product itself is not maintained, that is to say: the salt that we sell, the salt flats will not continue to live.
Nadia is a wise woman of salt, although she says that she has only read a lot and since she loves it she retains it well. It is a pleasure to continue listening to you.
From the chemical composition to the place of salt in history, everything fascinates me.
Around the salt flats, what ecosystem is maintained?
It's very diverse. To better explain you I give you an example, that of the San Pedro de Murcia salt flats, which are one of the most famous. There are huge ponds there and far from the coast. The water travels through channels, from the sea, until it reaches the salt mills. Well, all that journey that we can think of as sterile because it is salt water, turns out to be full of life. Life in the same water and also in everything that floods like flamingo-type birds, ibis. That is called a salt marsh, it is not only a place that produces salt but also maintains an ecosystem.
And here, what can we find associated with the salt flats?
Well, lizards, smooth, perennial, limpets, burgados and crabs - hence the name of the salt flats: we are like in the mouth of the crab and on both sides, the rocks resemble the claws-; of course many microorganisms such as Dunallilena Salina, which is what gives that pink color. Endemic flora such as the barley.
Do migratory birds also come to these salt flats?
The salt flats, in general, are a mandatory stop for bird migrations. Here for example, we have hoopoe, herons. In November 2020 a flamenco appeared, unexpectedly.
Lost or for the love of the salt flats?
More than love, out of necessity. He found an ecosystem that seemed familiar to him and he stayed. We still see it from time to time and have also seen it in other abandoned salt flats, further south of the island.
Tell us about the reception of Bocacangrejo salt outside the islands, do you export it?
Right now we are sending it to Japan: Tokyo sea salt, fleur de sel, flakes and virgin sea salt. In a different format because it travels in bulk and is packaged there. It has been a titanic effort on our part and also by Ángel, a palm tree and married to a Japanese woman who wants to sell Canarian products there. We contacted online and started sending mailings.
More synergies?
We also have collaborators in Madrid and through them we reach parts of Switzerland. We collaborate with a @pepeoil project that we call spicy salt.
What we do not want is to mix the salt with other things, but just as it contributes to the food. The natural salt, at its right point, enhances the flavor and does not give that taste of inedible salty, even after a bit, but it becomes powerful.
Do you dispatch in the salt flats?
No, no ... traditionally people had to go down to the salt flats for salt but nowadays they have it in the supermarket or the herbalist, just around the corner.
What part of the day is most beautiful in the salt flats?
The landscape at any time is impressive. In the morning the wind does not blow or it is hot and the air smells of the sea, of the beach. The sun rises in the east and you can see all the reflection in the cuts and it really is like a landscape of mirrors.
At noon, which is when the salt is collected, the light is similar to that of photographers' flashes: very harsh and vertical. And it gives a white-pink color. The trade winds blow strong - Nadia draws an infinity with her hands while speaking -The trade winds come from the Gulf of Mexico and are known as the "Trade Winds", because the ancients realized that they blow along the Europe-America trade route.
And afternoon?
The evening light is warm, relaxing, and the wind decreases. There are no more mirror reflections. The atmosphere becomes reddish and cozy.
Have you enjoyed the Moon in this environment?
I have seen giant moons and tides that change the landscape. Although there is a wall so that the water does not enter directly into the salt flats, if you are close they look good.
What is the best way to protect the landscape?
You have to consume local. I'm not just talking about our salt but about all the sectors of the island that generate a zero carbon footprint. If there is a market for the local product and there is a future for farmers, ranchers ... this may be a call for others to follow the same path.
There are salt pans that were abandoned like those of Confital, Salinetas, Los Tarajales ... Even today, in Confital, you can see vestiges of what was there. Times changed and disappeared but those that remain in operation must be maintained.
We are going to solve the initial test for readers. Give us clues, tell us about the different products of these salt flats.
The Virgin Sea Salt is what remains inside the sieve, it is what we separate when cleaning. The best known of all salts and is produced wholesale. For use in everyday cooking.
And the Flower of Salt?
It is collected on the surface and directly from the pit. It is a salt that forms only under certain conditions: a lot of heat but no wind. And instead of pushing with the wheel, it is dragged with a sieve, which is like a strainer with a flat base and a stick. The Flor de Sal has an excellent quality because it has not been subjected to the pressure of the water. It is delicate and with the first contact with the tongue it melts. The grain looks like a flower and we pack it in a ceramic pot. It is ideal for desserts and products that you want to subtly stand out.
What about the Salt Flakes?
When the grain is separated, it is what remains on the sieve, it is a very solid and crunchy salt. Add texture to the food: for a bread where you want it to crunch with the bite, in grilled vegetables or with some baked sweet potatoes, which if you finish them with Salt Flakes, they improve when they crunch.
Is Wet Sea Salt an exclusive product of Salinas Bocacangrejo?
Yes. We made it up. We used it at home and decided to market it. What we do is pack the salt directly from the pit and fill it with its own brine. It is used for already cooked product, to add it directly to the finished dish. You have to take a pinch with a teaspoon and apply it with the brine that is full of antioxidants, beta-carotene ... You can be creative with it since the brine provides a certain cooking point.
With the slogan of the Wet Sea Salt. "Tradition and avant-garde at your table" and this discovery, where the natural salt of all life is reborn for a modern and sophisticated use, we say goodbye to the Bocacangrejo Salt Flats.
Interview by LoriHelp
1 comment on «Amar la Sal»
Thorough and exhaustive analysis of the salt and salt mines of bocacangrejo.
A whole treatise on this essential natural food that nature gives us and these people are in charge of processing and disseminating it, using the knowledge and experience they treasure, and with the appropriate pedagogy.
Congratulations for such an initiative in favor of the maintenance of traditions.