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Industry Updates

Introducing: George Korakakis Neolea’s Flavored Sea Salt Producer

What is October all about for you?

In October we receive large quantities of freshly hand harvested ‘anthos alatiou’ or fleur de sel. This super flaky salt has been dried on straw mats to reduce the humidity to about 15%. Once in our facilities, we clean the salt from impurities like small pieces of seaweed by hand. Our salt is hand harvested during summer and once summer ends, most of that salt has been dried enough to be transferred to our facilities for cleaning, further dehydration and finally to be infused with the unique fruit, spices and herbs. Furthermore, at the end of summer the fruit that is used for our citrus sea salt is ready to be added to the salt.

How crucial is harvest season in the total of events that take place throughout the year?

Weather during summer is crucial for our job. Not enough heat or rain during summer means salt deposits cannot be built on the rocks. At the end of summer the Aegean sea is often tormented by heavy winds that can carry sand from Africa. Sand can only be mechanically cleaned which is something we don’t do for Neolea. We believe natural nutrients and the natural shape of sea salt are best preserved if we stay away from machinery, hence the hand harvesting. Sand is a risk to us as it can not be cleaned by hand. As a large portion of our salt comes from the island of Crete, the risk of this happening is always present. Even though salt is a mineral, our harvest is equally as dependent on weather conditions as many growing crops. All this comes to a crescendo at the end of summer. 

What is the one thing that food professionals could benefit from knowing about your job?

I wish more people would truly understand what; hand harvested from the rocks means. The efforts not only in harvesting but also the cleaning of the Neolea salt line are significant and worth it! The fact that no machines are used, apart from a dehydrator, is truly quite unique. Natural nutrients in salt mean a healthier salt and a tastier salt. So we get better quality while we have a close to zero carbon footprint! I haven’t even started yet on the organic fruits, herbs and spices we use to create these unique flavors!