Fleur de sel de Kampot
Price range: $3.10 through $6.60
Skimmed by hand from the surface of the Kampot salt pans, in flakes that stay crisp. A finishing salt, never a cooking one.
- Packed by hand
- Courier and hotel delivery
- Shipped from our boutiques
The story
Fleur de sel de Kampot
Drive the road between Kampot and Kep and you pass them for kilometres: shallow rectangular basins, ankle-deep, catching the dry-season sun. Seawater is let in, moved from pan to pan as it concentrates, and left to evaporate. On the calmest days a thin crust forms on the surface before the coarse salt crystallises underneath. That crust is the fleur de sel, and it is lifted off by hand with a flat rake, in the early morning, by people who have done it since the pans reopened after the war.
It is a small yield. A pan gives a great deal of coarse salt and very little of this.
Why it is not a cooking salt
The flakes are hollow and brittle, and their whole appeal is that they crunch and then dissolve. Put them in boiling water and you have paid a premium for ordinary salt. Put them on top of something at the last second and you get a burst of salinity and a texture that no fine salt reproduces.
On a grilled steak after resting. On tomatoes with olive oil. On a fried egg. On dark chocolate, on caramel, on a butter cookie straight from the oven. On sliced mango or green papaya, which is how it is eaten here.
Keeping it
It draws moisture, and Cambodian air has plenty. Keep the container closed and use a dry spoon or dry fingers. If it clumps, spread it on a plate for an hour rather than putting it near heat.
Sold in a 100 g palm leaf box and a 1 kg kraft bag, in Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and Kampot. The Kampot shop is the closest to the pans, about thirty minutes away on the Kep road.
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What our customers say
I came in for one tube of black pepper and left with the three colour set. The staff opened each one so I could smell them before choosing. Nothing was rushed.
Sokha C.Siem ReapReview published on Google Livraison le jour même à mon hôtel, emballage soigné, prêt pour l’avion. Le sel fumé est devenu mon cadeau par défaut.
Rithy S.KampotReview collected en boutique
Product details
- Origin
- Cambodia
- Harvest season
- January to May
- Ingredients
- Kampot fleur de sel
- Shelf life
- 2 years
- Allergens
- None
Questions
Where can I buy Kampot fleur de sel?
In our three shops, but the Kampot one is the closest to the pans, about thirty minutes away on the Kep road, which is the shortest route between the salt and your kitchen. Siem Reap and Phnom Penh carry the palm leaf box, the gift format. Courier delivery covers a perimeter around each shop.
What is the difference with ordinary Kampot salt?
Where it is taken from. Fleur de sel is the thin crust that forms on the surface of the pan on the calmest mornings, lifted by hand with a flat rake before the coarse salt crystallises underneath. The yield is small. The flakes are hollow and brittle, and they are meant to go on a dish at the last second, not into a pot of boiling water.
How do I stop it clumping?
Keep the container closed and use a dry spoon or dry fingers, never a wet one. Cambodian air is humid and this salt draws moisture, which is a sign it has not been chemically treated rather than a defect. If it does cake, spread it on a plate for an hour rather than putting it near a heat source.