Sea salt flakes, the crunchy finishing touch for every dish
Sea salt flakes are delicate, often pyramid-shaped salt crystals created by slowly boiling brine. Unlike fine table salt, they are not cooked into food; instead, they are sprinkled over the dish at the very end—for a delicate crunch and a clean, mineral flavor.
Sea salt flakes form when brine evaporates slowly at a low temperature—this allows flat, thin-walled crystals to grow, which break between the fingers like thin ice. The most famous ones come from Maldon in the English county of Essex, where the Osborne family has been boiling salt since 1882, now in its fourth generation.
Pyramids from England, energy from Iceland
You can recognize good salt flakes by their shape: small, hollow pyramids with wafer-thin walls that audibly crackle. With Maldon, you get the classic in a 125g or 250g box—for generations the favorite salt of many chefs.
The craft behind it has barely changed in over 140 years: brine from the Blackwater estuary is filtered, heated in flat pans, and left to sit until pyramids grow on the surface. It is harvested by hand using long rakes—patience, experience, and good timing determine the quality of the flake.
A different path is taken by Saltverk from Iceland: Björn Steinar Jónsson’s manufactory has been boiling its flakes in the Westfjords since 2011 using exclusively geothermal energy from hot springs. Their 90g or 250g jars rarely stay on our shelves for long. Tradition meets geothermal energy—not out of time, but ahead of it.
White, pink, smoky gray, and lava black
Salt flakes don't have to be white; in this category, four colors stand side by side. The Pink Salt Flakes from Murray River in Australia shimmer with a delicate pink hue, colored by minerals in the brine, and come in 150g, 200g, or 250g.
The sea salt flakes from Nordur come from Iceland in a blue 100g metal tin, alongside lava salt and black salt, whose flakes are dyed deep black with activated charcoal—a real eye-catcher on a light fish fillet or a boiled egg. Rosé salt flakes in ceramic jars from Pfeffersack und Soehne in Koblenz round out the selection.
As different as the colors may be, their character is closely related: all the flakes on this page are natural, contain no anti-caking agents, are uniodized, and are meant to be seen. Anyone who puts them into a grinder is giving away their greatest asset—the shape. Pretty to look at, wonderful to give as a gift, and delicious to crush!
Over the dish, never in it
Salt flakes are finishing salts; they only hit the plate once the pan is out of the picture. Our tip: crush them between your thumb and forefinger over seared meat, roasted vegetables, or avocado toast—delicate, crunchy, and mineral, that crunch makes all the difference.
The flakes shine especially on sweet things: on caramel, chocolate cookies, or brownies. Salty meets sweet, crunchy meets soft and melting—this interplay never gets old. For those who prefer something more classic, Fleur de Sel is the flake’s softer sister—while the crystal bloom of fleur de sel remains delicate and moist, salt flakes are boiled until they are crunchy and dry. The rest of the family awaits in our salt collection. A jar of flakes on the table—and suddenly everyone loves to season.
