Trapani sea salt
The sea salt from Trapani ( Italian Sale Marino di Trapani ) is produced by natural evaporation. As a food product without artificial additives, it has had the IGP classification ( Italian Indicazione Geografica Protetta ) since March 2012 .
The salt contains iodine and other trace elements important for the human organism . It is cleaned and packaged by hand. The IGP classification is an important, substantial basis for maintaining salt production.
The saltworks area includes parts of the municipalities of Trapani , Paceco and Marsala and is bordered by the "Via del Sale", which runs from Trapani to Marsala and was awarded the 1995 European Grand Prize for Tourism and Environment .
history
The extraction of salt on this coastal strip has been proven for the past three thousand years. According to tradition, the Phoenicians already traded the “white gold” at this point, and written evidence of its extraction has existed since 1154 at the latest. Under the Norman King Roger II , a travelogue was created that describes the circumstances in detail.
In 1910 the Trapani sea salt received a gold medal at the International Exhibition for Medicine and Hygiene in Buenos Aires. The salt was delivered as far as northern Europe for fish preservation.
After the first population jump in the 1910s, the population again grew rapidly in the 1940s and 50s, and with it the urbanization that devoured the saline areas to the north. With irreparable damage caused by a great flood in 1965, production finally came to a standstill.
Today, production takes place exclusively in the salt pans within the Riserva isole dello Stagnone , which were protected in 1984 and 1995 respectively, and the salt pans of Trapani and Paceco nature reserve , which have been recognized as cultivated land worth preserving. This protection initiated the resumption of this traditional activity of salt production , which has no longer appeared profitable since the 1950s .
The private association “Consorzio per la valorizzazione del sale marino di Trapani”, which was supported by the Italian section of the WWF , was in charge of the efforts to resume salt production .
Manufacturing
Salt pans
The salt is extracted in so-called "salt pans", shallow water basins in which the water level can be regulated and in which the salt content is enriched through evaporation. The salinity is measured in degrees Baumé (° Bé). The basins have very different sizes, but these are more due to the traditional geographic conditions than the function of the manufacturing process. The size of the basins and their water depth decrease more and more as the salt concentration increases.
A distinction is made between four different salt pans: First of all, the seawater is directed into pools called "Fridda". Locks prevent marine animals from immigrating. The basin is exactly at sea level and is flooded with the little tide here and closed with the help of watertight bulkheads . The salt content corresponds exactly to the natural occurrence in the Mediterranean with 3.5–4.5 ° Bé. The second basin "Vasa cultivu" is connected to the first by channels. With the help of the wind power, which is converted into rotary motion by the windmills, it is transferred to this slightly higher basin. The amount of water has already been reduced by a third, the salt content is accordingly around 12 ° Bé. This brine stored here , also known as “mother water”, is the raw material for the salt production of the subsequent production cycle.
The third basin "Ruffiana" or "Ruffianeddra" has a salt content of 16 to 18 ° Bé and is also connected to the previous basin by the so-called raw water channel, which can be used to control the salt content. Depending on the weather, water is added to the Vasa cultivu before it is poured into the next basin. In this fourth pan, "Caura" or "Sintina", the water has a density of 24 to 26 ° Bé and is known as "Aqua fatta" (manufactured water).
Manufacturing cycle
The cleaning of all pools begins in the second week of March. The sludge that has accumulated over the winter is used to seal the system. Then the entire system is first emptied, then sea water flows through it and then swept out. During the actual production, a slight contamination must be expected, which in the end forms the so-called insoluble residue. The reason for this is that, for production reasons, the pools have to be completely open and free of shade in order to guarantee the evaporation caused solely by solar radiation. However, these impurities are negligible and are compensated for in subsequent cleaning stages. Production can take place until the end of September - for exactly 176 days. Outside this time, the conditions are too unfavorable due to the low position of the sun . There are two harvests during the production period, and in some years three.
During the two hottest months, July and August, the “produced water” is fed into the so-called “Sintina” for “harvesting”. There the salt crystallizes out. It is piled up in long rows and covered with clay bricks. In this state, the salt dries further over the winter before it can be processed and sold in the next spring. It may then only be max. Contains 8 percent residual moisture.
The law allows one or more of the following operations to be carried out: It is permitted
- Countercurrent washing of the salt in saturated brine, which comes from the basins of the salt works in the production area
- Centrifuge
- mechanical grinding on site in stone mills (traditional windmills) or in stainless steel roller mills
- Drying in fluid bed dryers at temperatures below 250 ° C
- mechanical sieving for fractionation according to defined grain size intervals.
Chemical composition
| parameter | Unit of measurement | Sale Marino di Trapani |
|---|---|---|
| insoluble residue | % | <0.2 |
| Residual moisture | % | <8 |
| Sodium chloride (i.d.) | % | > 97.0 |
| magnesium | % | <0.70 |
| potassium | % | <0.30 |
| calcium | % | <0.40 |
| Sulfates | % | <1.5 |
| iron | mg / kg (ppm) | <20 |
| lead | mg / kg (ppm) | <1.5 |
| zinc | mg / kg (ppm) | <1 |
| copper | mg / kg (ppm) | <1 |
| chrome | mg / kg (ppm) | <0.15 |
| mercury | mg / kg (ppm) | <0.05 |
| cadmium | mg / kg (ppm) | <0.15 |
| arsenic | mg / kg (ppm) | <0.1 |
| iodine | mg / kg (ppm) | > 0.7 |
According to EU law, the composition of this food is precisely defined , taking into account the Codex Alimentarius .
distribution
The salt can be marketed with the clearly identifiable lettering "IGP - Sale Marino di Trapani". The pack sizes are set to eleven sizes between 100 g and 1000 kg. But big bags with 1375 kg are also filled. In addition to retailers, its customers are primarily food production such as ham smokers and cheese production.
Sosalt SpA has been responsible for exploration since 1922. The production area is around 800 hectares and the annual yield is 100,000 t . Up to 70,000 salt packs for individual households can be produced every day.
swell
- Luigi Todaro: Per il sale marino di Trapani arriva l'Indicazione geografica protetta. In: Giornale di Sicilia , March 14, 2012, ZDB -ID 824278-1 , p. 13.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Publication of an application for registration in accordance with Article 6 (2) of Regulation (EC) No. 510/2006 of the Council on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs (2012 / C 99/10) of the European Union
- ↑ History of the Salt Fields ( Memento of the original from December 30, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the site of the friends' association
- ^ Website of the manufacturer
Coordinates: 37 ° 59 ′ 13 ″ N , 12 ° 30 ′ 39 ″ E