Alpine Fleur de Sel in a Ceramic Pot

Alpine Fleur de Sel, the salt flower from Tyrol

Alpine Fleur de Sel by Essenz der Alpen is the delicate salt flower made from natural Tyrolean brine, hand-skimmed from the surface of the brine. A pure finishing salt from the Alps, not sea salt from the ocean – the delicate flakes in the 70g ceramic pot belong on the finished dish, not in the cooking water.

Alpine Fleur de Sel is the finest salt from Essenz der Alpen; it is the top, wafer-thin layer of crystals that forms on the natural brine in calm air and is carefully skimmed off by Johanna Jenewein. Unlike classic Fleur de Sel from the sea, it comes from a protected brine deep in the Tyrolean Alps, far away from the salt and microplastics of the oceans. Let the flakes melt on your tongue, and you will understand why it is called the flower of salt.

Delicate flakes with a fine crunch

Alpine Fleur de Sel consists of large, irregular salt flakes that crunch quietly on the first bite and then slowly melt on the tongue. A salt to see and to hear.

The flakes are delicate, crunchy, and mineral-rich, moister and more complex than ordinary table salt from a mill. It is precisely this short crunch, followed by the slow melting, that makes it a favorite among many chefs. It doesn't just season through; it sets an accent, a small crystalline highlight on every single bite. Suddenly, you taste your food more attentively.

Always on the finished dish, never in the cooking water

Fleur de Sel is a finishing salt; you sprinkle it over the finished dish just before serving so that the crunch and shape of the flakes are preserved.

A juicy steak, a fried egg, tomatoes with olive oil, or warm focaccia visibly carry the flakes on their surface. It is also a pleasure on sweet things, on caramel, dark chocolate, or a butter cookie, where the little crunch of salt wakes up the sweetness. For cooking and salting pasta water, rather use the coarser Alpine salt, and for meat and game, the aromatic Stone Pine salt is worth it. You can find more under our salt specialties.

Hand-skimmed from the brine surface

In the pan saltworks in Hall in Tyrol, Johanna Jenewein has been boiling natural Alpine brine since 2020, and only the most delicate crystal layer becomes the salt flower.

At the right temperature and in calm air, fine crystal flakes—the salt flower—form on top of the brine. It is skimmed off by hand before it sinks and only gently dried so that it retains its shape and slight residual moisture. The original salt for this is stored uncontaminated deep under the Alps, far from the seas. You can taste this patience later on your tongue.

Thus, a good 5 years after the first boiling attempts, a 100% pure Alpine Fleur de Sel is created that exists in this form only here. Seeking the special in tradition and bringing it back to the table in a new way is her leitmotif, as Johanna likes to emphasize. That is what craftsmanship tastes like.

Between the fingers and always at the end

Always sprinkle the delicate flakes between your fingers and always at the end so that they do not melt prematurely. A small pinch is enough, because the large crystals season precisely and intensely, so the 70 g lasts surprisingly long.

Store in a dry and sealed place, then the delicate residual moisture is preserved, and the empty ceramic pot can live on as a salt cellar or storage jar. As a small gift for connoisseurs, the pot makes an impression anyway. A slice of avocado with good olive oil shows the interplay of crunch and slow melting particularly clearly. Feel free to take a look around Essenz der Alpen. It hardly gets any more noble than this.