Figueira da Foz, Portugal
Artisanal Sea Salt
Your ingredients' best friend. Magnesium-rich, mineral-dense, and hand-harvested from the Atlantic coast of Figueira da Foz.
Finish dishes with Flor de Sal (£14), or take both in the Salty Duo (£20, save £3).
- Hand-harvested in Figueira da Foz
- No additives, ever
- Atlantic mineral salt
The salt
A pinch above the rest.
Silva Salt is the premium artisanal sea salt for serious home cooks. Hand-harvested in Figueira da Foz, from water to jar.
01 · Which salt, what for
One for cooking. One for finishing.
Two salts from the same Atlantic water. The everyday grain you cook with, and the delicate crust you finish with.
Artisanal Sea Salt
The everyday grain, slow-crystallised and raked by hand from the pans. Dissolves clean into whatever you are cooking.
Best forSeasoning as you cook, pasta water, roasting, baking.
Flor de Sal
The delicate crust skimmed from the surface of the water. Crisp flakes that hold their shape and crunch.
Best forThe final pinch before serving, tomatoes, eggs, chocolate, meat off the heat.
02 · Why it is worth it
Table salt is stripped to pure sodium chloride, which tastes harsh and flat. We keep the ocean's whole mineral matrix. That is what gives the salt its rounded depth, and why it makes ingredients sing.
Natural
Evaporated by sun and wind. Nothing forced.
Nothing added
No anti-caking agents. No additives of any kind.
Mineral-rich
Magnesium, calcium and the trace minerals of the sea.
What you'll notice
Coarse crystals, not flakes.
Open the jar and you'll find robust, irregular crystals rather than fine flakes. That is exactly as it should be. Our sea salt crystallises slowly in the pans across about a week of Atlantic sun, raked by hand every day. That slow, unforced growth gives a larger, more mineral-rich crystal that seasons deeply. Coarse is not unrefined. It is salt made the old way, at nature's pace.
Silva Kitchen
A few ways to start.
A taste of the Kitchen, opening this winter. Simple ways to put the salt to work.
Placeholder recipes and imagery, found-for-mockup, to be replaced with Silva Kitchen photography.
Everyday
Tomatoes, olive oil, a pinch of flor de sal
Weekend
Crisp-skinned salmon, seasoned as it cooks
Sweet
Dark chocolate, finished with flakes
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Sea salt vs table salt: what is the difference?
Table salt is refined down to pure sodium chloride and usually carries anti-caking agents, which is why it tastes sharp and flat. Ours is 100% artisanal sea salt with nothing added, so it keeps the ocean's whole mineral matrix, magnesium, potassium and calcium. That is what gives it a rounded, mellow flavour that lifts food rather than just making it salty.
Why is my salt a little moist?
Because it is real, unrefined salt. It carries a higher moisture level than the refined salt you are used to, naturally humid, dried by sun and wind and never artificially heated. The moisture is a sign of an honest, minimally processed salt, not a fault.
How long does it keep?
Salt effectively lasts forever. We print a best-before date because we are required to, but stored properly it will keep its quality well beyond it. It will not spoil.
How should I store it?
Store in a cool dry place, ideally within easy reach for great cooking and baking.
Why is the salt coarse and not fine flakes?
Because it is made slowly, the old way. Our sea salt crystallises in the pans across about a week of Atlantic sun, raked by hand each day, which grows a larger, more mineral-rich crystal. Coarse, irregular crystals are the mark of unrefined salt made at nature's pace, not a fault. If you want fine, delicate flakes to finish with, that is our Flor de Sal.
The craft
Raked by hand, dried by the sun.
Atlantic water is drawn into shallow pans and left to the sun. Harvested by hand each week, the crystals form slowly as the salt is raked, day after day. No machines, no heat, no shortcuts.
Figueira da Foz, Portugal. Worked the same way for centuries.
At the table
Some things bring out the best in people.
The joyful summer gatherings. The happiness of sharing good food and good times. There is always room for one more at the table, and a pinch of good salt in the pot.
