WORLD RENOWNED SALT

Salt has been refined from the waters of the Blackwater Estuary since the Middle Ages. The mudflats along the north bank are still known as the Red Hills due to the primitive burning processes used on the clay and the fragments of terracotta salt pots left in the ground. But in 1882, the industry took a historic turn with the birth of the Maldon Salt Company. Working from a single set of salt pans on the north bank, the company pioneered a sophisticated new extraction processes. In 1922, James Osborne took ownership of the company. It has since been overseen by four generations of the family. In 1955, Maldon Salt gained recognition after a local girl gave a pot of the condiment to her Swedish penfriend. Her father happened to be the buyer for food halls in Sweden, and he instantly put in an order to supply his entire chain. In 2006, the company developed a new production facility on the site of a Saxon salt works on the north bank. And in 2012, the company was granted a Royal Warrant to supply salt to Her Majesty the Queen. Today, the company has 37 pans. According to the Osbornes, the process is natural and simple, but it is the technique which makes the difference. Seawater is filtered and boiled to remove impurities, then heated until the salt crystallises. It is the temperature and timing, and, in particular, the traditional drawing of the salt by hand from the pans that is said to confound anyone without a salt maker’s skills.