Arctic Thyme Salt – Salt flakes with thyme

Arctic Thyme Salt, Sea Salt Flakes with Arctic Thyme

Saltverk Arctic Thyme Salt combines hand-harvested Icelandic sea salt flakes with Arctic thyme, which grows only in Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands. Herbaceous and floral, almost like lavender – in an 80-gram jar.

Saltverk Arctic Thyme Salt consists of sea salt flakes with Arctic thyme from the Icelandic Westfjords. The wild thyme of the North grows only in Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands – and has such a distinctive scent that Björn Steinar Jónsson compares it more to lavender than to the thyme on a windowsill.

Floral, herbaceous, and quite different from what you would expect

As soon as you open the jar, a scent arises that lies somewhere between a herb meadow and a lavender field – wilder, sweeter, and cooler than Mediterranean thyme. The flake crunches on the palate, then the herb takes over: aromatic, floral, with a delicate, resinous depth.

“It has a much more distinct scent than the thyme you are used to in the kitchen,” says Björn, describing the Arctic herb. That is exactly why it is worth tasting this salt on its own before you start cooking – a pinch on the back of your hand, and you will be amazed.

Arctic thyme grows low and tough on Iceland’s heaths and highlands, where it holds its own against wind and short summers – this barrenness concentrates its aroma. What the meadow lacks in abundance, it compensates for with intensity. Sparse, wild, and concentrated: an herb like its landscape.

For lamb, potatoes, and roasted vegetables

Arctic thyme and lamb are a classic combination in Iceland – a sprinkle on a medium-rare rack of lamb shows you why. Just as delicious: roasted potatoes, roasted root vegetables, sautéed mushrooms, or goat cheese with honey.

It is perfect in quark served with boiled potatoes or in a quick yogurt marinade for chicken – the herb stands up to the coolness and blossoms again when eaten. A pinch is enough; the 80-gram jar will accompany you through many evenings of cooking.

The salt also shows its character in baking, bringing a touch of meadow and sea to focaccia or buttered bread. Sprinkle only after cooking so that the flake and herb retain their moment. More seasoned varieties can be found in our Herb and Spiced Salts, and the pure base in our Sea Salt Flakes.

From the highland herb to the jars of the Westfjords

The salt is harvested in Reykjanes, about 400 kilometers from Reykjavík: since 2011, 97-degree spring water has heated the open salt pans there – Saltverk was the first producer in the world to fully revive this 17th-century geothermal method.

The Arctic thyme is dried and carefully mixed into the freshly harvested flakes by hand, in small batches of 80 grams per jar. A variety that can only authentically come from the Far North – that is a principle of selection at Saltverk, not just a whim.

The history of the place also resonates here: geothermal energy was used to harvest salt in Reykjanes as early as the 17th century; the Laki eruption ended that chapter in 1783, and Björn opened it again in 2011. Arctic Thyme Salt is arguably its most poetic side.

Anyone who has opened a jar understands why chefs from Noma to Hart Bageri work with this salt. You can read the full story of the producer under Saltverk, and find its maritime counterpart in our Seaweed Salt. Iceland can do meadows, too!