Salins-du-Midi

The Salins-du-Midi or salt pans lie on a vast strip of land between the former harbour town of Aigues-Mortes and the Mediterranean, in the Petite Camargue in southern France, an area of unspoilt natural beauty and untouched wildlife within the Camargue national park. Salt is said to have been produced here as far back as Roman times. The Salins-du-Midi farm an area of over 7000 hectares and produce half of France's supply of salt, ranging from salt for roads and industrial use to gourmet salts such as the expensive fleur de sel. Salt water is pumped from the Mediterranean, where it dries during the summer months in the Mistral or Tramontaine winds. At the end of August, what is left in the salt pans is coarse sea salt. Literally translating into 'salt flower', the delicacy called fleur de sel is harvested first, when it is scraped by hand from the top layers before the rest of the salt sinks to the bottom of the pan.