What Is Fleur de Sel – And Why Is It So Expensive?

Salt is salt, right? Well, not quite — once you try Fleur de Sel, you'll see why all salts are not created equal.

Published on June 27, 2023

Fleur de Sel, French for "flower of salt," is an expensive and highly coveted type of French sea salt. Unlike many types of commercially available salt, it's hand harvested from the banks of the ocean. This flakey, slightly oily salt has a unique flavor that's perfect for garnishing.

What Is Fleur de Sel?

Fleur de Sel is a specific type of sea salt harvested off the Atlantic coast of France. The harvesting process is extremely intricate and requires careful maneuvering; this combined with the small amount of Fleur de Sel produced from each batch, contributes to its high price. Since this salt is not the product of total evaporation, it doesn't contain any of the natural impurities you'd find in standard sea salt and has a cleaner, more oceanic flavor.

Sea Salt vs. Fleur de Sel

Most sea salt is harvested by allowing salt water to sit in large basins until the water evaporates and the bottom is coated in salt deposits. However, some salt floats to the water's surface during this process, forming thin and fragile deposits. These delicate flakes are harvested and sold as Fleur de Sel. So Fleur de Sel is a type of sea salt, but not all sea salt is Fleur de Sel.

What Does Fleur de Sel Taste Like?

Fleur de Sel is salt, so it obviously brings salt to a dish, but it's prized in culinary circles for its additional, complex flavors. It has mineral flavor and a briney, sweeter quality to it. It's also much moister than Kosher or table salt, so the flakes stick together and form little clumps that creates pockets of extra saltiness when sprinkled on food. The individual pieces are slightly flakey and irregular, giving them a pleasantly crunchy texture.

Get the recipe: Whole Chicken Pie

How to Use Fleur de Sel

Fleur de Sel is best used as a finishing salt, meaning it should be sprinkled on food after it's cooked and on the plate. You can use it for cooking, but the things that make Fleur de Sel so special (and expensive) will be lost. Cooking it destroys its special texture, and the unique flavor will be muddled when mixed in with other things.

Fleur de Sel is the perfect salt for major impact when plating. Try sprinkling a pinch on freshly baked chocolate cookies or along the crispy skin of pan-fried fish. Almost any cooked veggie welcomes a dusting of Fleur de Sel, but deeply roasted or grilled veggies pair exceptionally well with this salt. The flavors of charring and smoke are perfect complements to Fleur de Sel's distinct minerality.

Fleur de Sel Substitutes

Since Fleur de Sel is primarily used as a finishing salt rather than a primary seasoning agent, other types of flakey or finishing salts can be substituted. Fleur de Sel has a distinct minerality and crunch, so it can't be replicated exactly.

Maldon is another French finishing salt that is very popular among professional chefs. It's a bit drier than Fleur de Sel, but the crunchy flakes have a similar texture. Himalayan pink salt flavor closer to Fleur de Sel, though the texture is much different. Cornish salt is also a suitable substitute.

Where to Buy Fleur de Sel

You probably won't find Fleur de Sel at your local groceries store. Still, if your supermarket is usually pretty well stocked on specialty products, or if you shop at stores that regularly carry higher-end products like Whole Foods, it doesn't hurt to look. If you have a spice store near you, they will also likely have it. You can much more reliably find it online at retailers like Amazon or online specialty food stores.

How to Store Fleur de Sel

We don't usually think of salt as something that can go bad, and technically it doesn't, but because of Fleur de Sel's high moisture content, it needs some special storage. When you first get your Fleur de Sel, it's probably in some sort of plastic or cardboard, two materials Fleur de Sel does not love. Take it out of the packaging and store it in an airtight glass, ceramic, or porcelain container. Stored like this, it should retain its prized moisture and remain fresh nearly indefinitely.