Fermat 48
Collecting Sal (Salt)
The Salinas del Carmen (Fuerteventura) produces one of the highest quality salts in the Canary Islands due to the purity of the water and the fact that it is obtained from sea ‘Foam’. The result is a fine white salt rich in trace minerals. With a surface area of 26,100 square metres it has the potential of producing 700 tonnes of salt a year but currently only produces about 70 tonnes. Water only enters the ‘evaporating ponds’ when there is a breeze (no wind, no salt) and has to reach a temperature of 30 degrees to make salt. The water has to be left for 28-30 days it then starts to thicken up, much like milk curdling, the salt then needs to be skimmed off the top using a scraper. This is what the two gentlemen in the picture are doing. The dirty looking piles of salt are what have been collected from around the sides of the ‘evaporating ponds’; this salt is not used.
The word ‘Salary’ comes from the Latin word salarium, which also means salary and has the root sal, or "salt." In ancient Rome, it specifically meant the amount of money allotted to a Roman soldier to buy salt, which was an expensive but essential commodity.
Collecting Sal (Salt)
The Salinas del Carmen (Fuerteventura) produces one of the highest quality salts in the Canary Islands due to the purity of the water and the fact that it is obtained from sea ‘Foam’. The result is a fine white salt rich in trace minerals. With a surface area of 26,100 square metres it has the potential of producing 700 tonnes of salt a year but currently only produces about 70 tonnes. Water only enters the ‘evaporating ponds’ when there is a breeze (no wind, no salt) and has to reach a temperature of 30 degrees to make salt. The water has to be left for 28-30 days it then starts to thicken up, much like milk curdling, the salt then needs to be skimmed off the top using a scraper. This is what the two gentlemen in the picture are doing. The dirty looking piles of salt are what have been collected from around the sides of the ‘evaporating ponds’; this salt is not used.
The word ‘Salary’ comes from the Latin word salarium, which also means salary and has the root sal, or "salt." In ancient Rome, it specifically meant the amount of money allotted to a Roman soldier to buy salt, which was an expensive but essential commodity.