It is interesting to me that we haven't yet reached a notion of terroir for salt as we have for wines, but as surely as the environment affects the grapes, the environment affects the salts. I love the idea of salt getting into the memory.
I grew up by the coast in the north-east of England -- Redcar , which was originally called Saltscar. I never saw salt as crystals on the beaches but the taste of it was always in the air -- though in the 70s heavilly polluted from the 80 square miles of chemical factories plus steel works and more across the Tees. Tasting salt on the air always tastes of home.
My two youngest did their MAs up there about 8 years ago so I went back then (Cottia had her final arts show in what was once the hospital where I was born) ::) But the palce was desolate. There had been a lot of clearing but the land was devastated and littered with scrap metal and bits of pipe -- very much a wasteland. Not sure it has changed since.
My long exploration and further teaching of charcuterie or “salaisons” is based on the preservative properties of natural salt. A favorite roadtrip is to the pork rich Basque Countries and the saltworks at Salies-de-Bearns where the Jambon de Bayonne consortium runs a Musée de Sel—a must see for historic, geological, and gustatory reasons. I loved this latest post and look forward to the next series.
I will look forward to your next series greatly Alex, caves and tunnels are not my forte due being claustrophobic but despite this infuriating affliction, I have always been intrigued by them, even to the extent of trembling violently and venturing in… we have a tunnel leading from one of ‘les caves’ under our home, it is blocked a few feet in sadly and has no history that I can find… I haven’t stopped trying though!
Isn't it strange how we identify so strongly with the elements of the places where we grew up? For me, it isn't sea or salt. It's hills and rocks and forests and rivers. I'm not happy if I'm not surrounded by them. Especially forests, though the days of large old forests are gone.
Really enjoyed this piece. And thanks for linking to the preliminary Substack Nature directory. I am not sure how likely we are to ever end up with a "Nature" category here -- who knows? -- but in the meantime, we are cooking up something that will be a bit more user-friendly than just an alphabetical list with over 160 publications. I never dreamed there were so many of us here, that the list would grow so large! It definitely needs a more interactive home, so that's in the works.
It is interesting to me that we haven't yet reached a notion of terroir for salt as we have for wines, but as surely as the environment affects the grapes, the environment affects the salts. I love the idea of salt getting into the memory.
I grew up by the coast in the north-east of England -- Redcar , which was originally called Saltscar. I never saw salt as crystals on the beaches but the taste of it was always in the air -- though in the 70s heavilly polluted from the 80 square miles of chemical factories plus steel works and more across the Tees. Tasting salt on the air always tastes of home.
Lithium salt literally keeps me sane. There's that.
My two youngest did their MAs up there about 8 years ago so I went back then (Cottia had her final arts show in what was once the hospital where I was born) ::) But the palce was desolate. There had been a lot of clearing but the land was devastated and littered with scrap metal and bits of pipe -- very much a wasteland. Not sure it has changed since.
My long exploration and further teaching of charcuterie or “salaisons” is based on the preservative properties of natural salt. A favorite roadtrip is to the pork rich Basque Countries and the saltworks at Salies-de-Bearns where the Jambon de Bayonne consortium runs a Musée de Sel—a must see for historic, geological, and gustatory reasons. I loved this latest post and look forward to the next series.
I will look forward to your next series greatly Alex, caves and tunnels are not my forte due being claustrophobic but despite this infuriating affliction, I have always been intrigued by them, even to the extent of trembling violently and venturing in… we have a tunnel leading from one of ‘les caves’ under our home, it is blocked a few feet in sadly and has no history that I can find… I haven’t stopped trying though!
Isn't it strange how we identify so strongly with the elements of the places where we grew up? For me, it isn't sea or salt. It's hills and rocks and forests and rivers. I'm not happy if I'm not surrounded by them. Especially forests, though the days of large old forests are gone.
Really enjoyed this piece. And thanks for linking to the preliminary Substack Nature directory. I am not sure how likely we are to ever end up with a "Nature" category here -- who knows? -- but in the meantime, we are cooking up something that will be a bit more user-friendly than just an alphabetical list with over 160 publications. I never dreamed there were so many of us here, that the list would grow so large! It definitely needs a more interactive home, so that's in the works.