Varletian Green Salt
The Varletian Green Salt (in varleuteicher : Seil Veird Varleuteichois), also simply known as Green salt or as Salt of Grateubei, is a coarse sea salt of an unusual bright green color, due to a sea sparkle named Noctiluca scintillans viridis, trapped into the grains of salt. This bioluminescent algae is itself an endemic variety of the more common Noctiluca scintillans species. Red and purple species also exist in other parts of Novaris.
This salt is harvested and refined on the west coast of Varletia, near the town of Grateubei in the Bay of Peuveiche. It is the only place in the world where this salt is produced, and needs a specific label to guarantee its authenticity. It has a strong seafood flavor and a mild bitterness. Often used to cook meat and fish, it however lacks the iodine added in the regular table salt.
Producing
The green salt is harvested in salt marshes, covering a broad area of the coast. Sea water is introduced to the salt marsh by a canal, which ends in a mudflat, the first large reservoir where it settles.
The sea water then flows from basin to basin, until it reaches the ideal place for evaporation : a very large and shallow basin. All the time it takes for the water to get from one place to another, and all the obstacles it crosses facilitate the evaporation.
When it finally arrives to the last basin, the salt can be harvested as the salinity has reached high levels. A densimeter is used to measure the water salinity, as well as the sun and the wind are great indicators.
The final product is then set to dry under tarpaulins, while the salt from previous years are packaged and sorted on a treadmill, to be exported and sold on the market right after.
Are estimated to be produced 5,000 tons of green salt every year. This is relatively low compared to other salt producing regions, the Salt Marshes of Peuveiche being one of the smallest of the continent. The main focus is on quality other than quantity, on a more artisanal way than an industrial one, moreover as it is a rarer type of salt.
Use
Largely used in the varleuteicher cuisine, it serves as a seasoning or as an ingredient for various sauces, salad dressings, fouch and other typical dishes, or even fruits. The green salt gives a fishy taste, reminding of the ocean and seafood. Those not used to this salt describes it as smelling something close to low tide or aged fish. Others relate to the taste of dried algaes.
This salt is said to cure sore throats and anginas, and was very often used as pain medication. In the local folklore, people would place a sample of green salt under the pillow of their children to keep them safe from drowning.
Because it has a taste close to seafood, it is often paired with veggies to make vegan versions of fish dishes. Rarely associated with meat, some cooks advise to sparsely sprinkle it over pork or beef, paired with a mushroom sauce, to give a strong bitter and sour flavor.
Among everyday consumers, the more regular white table salt has for the most part replaced the use of green salt. With a neutral taste and able to season every kind of food, it got ahead green salt which is only used at specific occasions. Nowadays seen as a fancy product, it increased in popularity in foreign countries, especially the industrialised one, among the wealthy populations, where it figures as a luxury item and a novelty to have to follow the brand new culinary trends. Many benefits are attributed to green salt, although they probably aren't very accurate.