Our salt making is a unique and innovative process
step 1
We draw up brine from the Iapetus Ocean, deep below the Appalachian Mountains, to the surface by means of a well. The brine is held in a settling tank for about a week to let it clarify.
step 2
The brine is then moved from the tank into evaporation beds in our sun-houses, where it is solar evaporated to concentrate the salinity.
step 3
Once the brine is evaporated by just the right amount, it is moved to a crystallization bed. Then crystals begin to form. (The fun part!)
step 4
Once the salt crystals have formed, they are hand-raked to separate them from the bittern ("nigari", as it is known in Japan). This is a residual mineral-rich liquid that can be used to make tofu or can be taken as a natural mineral supplement.
step 5
Our hand-made wooden rake is the perfect tool to gently harvest the salt and optimize the size and flake of the crystals. All of our tools are hand-crafted for us from Birch wood by our good friends at Allegheny Treenware, in Thornton, WV.
step 6
At the end of the harvesting the salt is scooped onto cotton cloths for drying.
step 7
Salt is harvested daily in the summer.
step 8
Finally, we carry the salt in small wagons back to our farm office, for it’s last breath of fresh air before we package, hand-label, batch number, and seal each glass jar of salt with the same care with which it was made.
This all-natural, sustainably focused process leaves behind a clean, nutrient-filled salt. Because the power of the sun and the mountain air do most of the work, there are no additives, nor anti-caking agents present.
