Maldon Crystal Salt Company Limited,[1] trading as Maldon Salt, is a salt-producing company in Maldon on the high-salinity banks of the River Blackwater in Essex, England. The river is favoured by flat tide-washed salt marshes and low rainfall.
Sea salt production in the coastal town of Maldon dates back to the time of Roman Britain when clay-lined salt evaporation ponds were constructed, and according to the Domesday Book, 45 lead pans were used to manufacture salt there in 1086.[2]
The Maldon Salt Company was founded under its current name in 1882, having previously been part of a local coal firm.[3] In the 1990s and early 2000s, Maldon's salt grew in popularity after being used by prominent chefs including Ruth Rogers, Delia Smith, and Jamie Oliver.[4]
Maldon Sea Salt is made on a large scale by evaporating brine over an elaborate network of modern gas-fired brick flues. At one time crystal drying was by woodburning stove and later by industrial oven before the use of a oscillator was introduced. In 2017 it was said that inverted pyramid-shaped crystals prevented the salt from caking, and the resulting flakes from their breakdown were used as a finishing salt.
The company claims that the salt's low magnesium content means it has less of a bitter aftertaste than other salts.[4] Salt gained from evaporating seawater has a higher magnesium ion content than some table salts.[5]