This is Japanese sea salt, aka 'shio' from Hirono, Shizuoka. Japanese sea salt has natural nigari left in (salts that remain after you evaporate the seawater, such as magnesium, calcium, potassium). The nigari softens the salt, removes bitter flavors from foods, prevents mushiness when boiling foods, and acts as a strong antibacterial for those of you fermenting or aging foods. 

In Japan, salt, or shio, always refers to sea salt. Japan has no land deposits of salt and relies 100% on seawater for its salt production. Luckily, Japan is surrounded by five seas, each with its own balance of salinity, minerals, and marine life. These variations and production methods are what make Japanese salts vary in flavor, grain size, dryness, and color. 

This salt is made in Hirono, Shizuoka. To make this salt, they source seawater from two World Heritage sites, Shark Bay off the coast of Australia, and El Vizcaino Bay off the coast of Baja California. The seawater is dried at sea under the strong sun and wind to create a beautiful dry salt. They then take this salt and mix it with pristine water drawn from an underground well in the Japanese Alps and make a strong saltwater concentration which is then cooked slowly in flat-bottom kettles. The result is a moist, mineral rich salt with a robust flavor that dissolves easily into foods when you use it for cooking. And yes, this is more of a cooking salt than a finishing salt.

21.17 oz