by Bulls Bay Saltworks
Our Carolina Flake Sea Salt has been making waves in local kitchens for a year and a half now. Today we’re harvesting batch 249.
We believe our salt only gets better with each batch as we continue to improve our technique. Some flake salt makers filter sea water into big metal tanks using heat to evaporate all excess water until flakes appear on the surface of the water, then harvest the flakes.
Striving to make the best salt we possibly can, we use solar evaporation to concentrate our sea water until it has almost three pounds of salt per gallon of water. Once the salt water is super saturated and starts to form crystals we filter it one final time and transfer it to a non-reactive pot. One of the many reasons Carolina Flake is remarkable is because this pot prevents metal ions from transferring a bitter metal aftertaste to the delicate flakes. At this point, it doesn’t take much more energy to finish growing crystals, in the summer we can form the flakes under our solar tunnel and in the cooler months we finish them up on a hotplate. Flake salt is thinner and larger than regular salt crystals resulting in more surface area which gives a quick pop of saltiness. There is less moisture in flake style salts which makes it a perfect finishing salt with a satisfying crunch that highlights the complex flavors of your favorite kitchen creation.Go ahead, pinch it!
Bulls Bay Saltworks started a small homestead in McClellanville, SC in 2011, striving to be as self sufficient as possible. Growing much of our own food, we planted a large garden, got a flock of chickens and a few pigs. We tried to think about simple solutions for a slower paced life.
In the spring of 2012 we hosted a potluck hog roast. Luckily, we live only a few miles from the coast so we collected seawater to brine the hog. We also boiled some of the seawater on the stove to make salt for seasoning the hog as it cooked.
Placing the salt in a bowl on the smoker, Rustin sprinkled the hog with it every few hours as both the hog and the salt smoked. When the food was served everyone was raving about the salt and we knew we should consider making more.
Teresa was growing vegetables and selling produce to a small CSA and through Charleston’s local food hub. We began offering solar evaporated Bulls Bay Sea Salt to our customers and soon the demand for the salt made us realize we should pursue it as a separate business.