Narrator: In just a few hours,
these salt crystals will disappear.
They're fleur de sel crystals, unique to salt marshes
like this one in Batz-sur-Mer, western France.
Cédric has to harvest the fleur de sel now
or it will sink to the bottom of the pond,
ruining the properties that make it unique.
Fleur de sel is a salt that dissolves slowly,
so its taste lingers in the mouth.
Narrator: That's part of why it sells
for 230 times more than table salt domestically
and for up to $420 per kilogram outside French borders.
But just about every step of the process
to get this salt is difficult.
Before harvesting, the wind has to be perfect,
and during the harvest, salt producers like Cédric
need to be ready to collect the precious salt at any moment,
or they won't make a profit.
Narrator: Even if they seize the right moment,
the salt has to dry for an entire year
before it can be sold.
So, is it always worth it to produce fleur de sel?
And why is it so expensive?
Narrator: Cédric is a paludier,
what salt harvesters are known as in Batz-sur-Mer.
Here, the close proximity to the sea allows salt producers
to easily divert water to shallow ponds dug in blue clay.
Unlike table salt,
which is typically mined from underground,
fleur de sel comes to the surface of the pond naturally.
It's seawater that is slowly evaporating
in the summer heat.
Narrator: Fleur de sel literally translates
to "flower of salt," but there are no flowers in it.
Its name is a play on words
with the French verb "affleurer,"
which means "coming up to the surface."
Narrator: Once it forms, the harvest window is very short.
Narrator: Anything like sudden rain
or algae stuck in the water system
could ruin the salt at any time.
Narrator: This natural harvest method
means that the salt has a high moisture content.
Narrator: When a salt crystal is high in moisture,
it doesn't contain just water.
Narrator: To lower the moisture
but preserve the nutrients inside the salt crystals,
Cédric cannot speed up the drying process.
He needs to let it dry slowly for an entire year
before it's ready to be sold.
Narrator: This is what sets fleur de sel apart
from table salt, which contains little to no moisture,
but also from other wet salts that are dried naturally
but have been harvested differently.
Cédric wanted to be even more specific,
so he started to classify his salts
based on the different winds blowing here.
This had never been done before.
The predominant winds here
blow from the west and northwest.
Narrator: In France, Cédric's custom salt
can sell for over 10 times as much
as other types of fleur de sel.
Abroad, it can reach $420 per kilogram.
Narrator: His most expensive fleur de sel
is this one, nicknamed snow.
A 100-gram box sells for 23 euros.
Cédric created it by studying
the salinity levels in the pond
combined with a very rare wind.
Narrator: Cédric wasn't born into this job.
He started harvesting salt
as a hobby with friends 20 years ago.
At the time, he had an office job in Paris.
Narrator: Today, he works with another paludier
on 62 salt ponds
and he collaborates with 10 other companies
on over 100 ponds.
Narrator: Fleur de sel is actually a byproduct
of another type of salt, coarse salt.
Narrator: In the pond, it's a symphony between the two.
Narrator: Cédric can only harvest coarse salt
in the morning before fleur de sel forms
or just after harvesting it in the late afternoon.
These movements are too harsh for fleur de sel
and would instantly destroy it.
Narrator: For a paludier,
coarse salt takes up most of the time at work,
and also most of the harvest.
For every 10 kilos of coarse salt,
there is only 1 kilogram of fleur de sel.
Still, because of the hand-harvest method,
this coarse salt remains
seven times as expensive as table salt.
But Cédric didn't want to stop at the winds with his salt.
He now plays with moisture to develop new flavors.
His most successful creation was this one: smoked salt.
Narrator: Cédric uses a mix of west- and east-wind salts
that have already dried for one year.
The salt smokes for 12 hours.
Narrator: He's now collaborating with chefs
to create custom salts.