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Blackthorn Scottish Sea Salt

@blackthornsalt

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Astonishing Scottish Sea Salt Flakes sustainably made on the West Coast using an ancient Thorn Tower Method. Organic and multi-award winning.

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Just to recap in case anyone is new…

Our Blackthorn Sea Salt flakes begin their journey in the seawater of Scotland’s west coast, collected just a few miles from the Thorn Tower. Here, 90% of the liquid evaporates leaving a super salty brine and setting the stage crystal formation itself.

The convection currents in the Pan House baths play havoc with would-be symmetrical crystals meaning each one is unique, and our deliberately slow and gentle method ensures their character and ability to enhance flavours is exciting.

It takes around 5-8 days, not hours, for the flakes to form, which allows us to capture approximately 6x more minerals and bark tannins - calcium for sweetness; NaCl for saltiness; potassium for sourness; magnesium for bitterness; and earthy blackthorn branch tannins for savoury umami effects.

Blackthorn seeks to enhance each of the five basic tastes and to make the utmost of every flavour so the taste experience really shines, but not simply in a salty way. Great salt can, indeed, be transformative. by @blackthornsalt

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2 years ago

We say Blackthorn is made with sea, wind and thorns, but really… it comes from our hearts.

💚 It takes a team 💚

#blackthornsalt #seasalt #salt #saltmaking #westcoastofscotland taken in Ayr by @blackthornsalt

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8 months ago

Blackthorn has become renowned for its complex flavour, depth and mellowness. But why, what is this extra something that’s making this happen?

Unbeknownst to us at the time, the Thorn Tower technique as a secret extra effect: the blackthorn bushels impart tannins from their bark into the seawater/brine that gives the umami to our salt- allowing the flavour it reveals on the plate to be substantially deeper and longer lasting.

Once noticed, it makes complete sense and is totally obvious- as the seawater slowly trickles through thousands of intertwined blackthorn branches it picks up these natural tannins from the bark. They also give the brine its beautiful amber/golden/peaty colour.

The sweet, sour, salty and bitter tastes are all enhanced by the minerals retained from the sea and we make sure that these are preserved in sufficient quantities to make sure their presence is felt. Reflected in Blackthorn Salt’s character effect on the flavour of any dish, much the same way as a splash of milk or sugar transforms tea and coffee (or how just a drop of gin completely changes glass of tonic!)… But, we were surprised by this extra savoury bonus from the blackthorn bark (it’s also visible in the slight creamy rather than bright-white colour of the flakes).

To enable salt to its job to this level of distinction is not something that can be achieved in a few hours of boiling. As you can tell, we interrogate every step of our method, all the time (to the point of… well, craziness) and ensure that the brine is given days and days of slow, gentle steeping etc.- honestly, it’s a labour of love 💚 by @blackthornsalt

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3 months ago

Probably the most-asked question at Blackthorn is: ‘How long do the thorns last?’

It’s around 7 to 10 years, but it’s not the wood itself that deteriorates. The problem is the gradual build-up of calcium sulphate, or gypsum — the first mineral to crystallise from seawater.

This forms around each branch and thorn and eventually becomes a thick thatch, reducing airflow and making it harder for the wind to pass through and evaporate water droplets — a crucial part of our method. It also stops the tannins coming through.

So, we change a section every year to stop the job from ever becoming too immense, maintain production and, importantly, keep a consistent tannin influence on the salt itself.

Incidentally, that calcium sulphate build-up inspired @nasa scientists to christen a small, naturally formed sculpture on Mars “Blackthorn Salt”. The Mars rover came across this 1 cm phenomenon back in early 2022, we couldn’t believe it!!

In the past, this salty calcium sulphate, or Pan Skatch as it was known, was used to repair the Pan House chimneys, as it’s almost like mortar.

Nowadays, most of it is caught in the thorns, but some also ends up in the pan. It’s a by-product for us, and we’d love to find a use for it — all suggestions welcome!

#blackthornsalt #mars by @blackthornsalt

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2 days ago

We are often asked, ‘why the Thorn Tower?’

Our inspiration came from the magnificent graduation towers in Poland and Germany. Built in the 16-1800s, these Graduation Towers concentrated brine from underground rock salt sources; today, they remain standing, magnificently and are used for part of spas and tourist attractions.

We have adapted the method for seawater evaporation and to take advantage of modern know how- it took years of (slightly!) obsessive research, working with at least 3 unis and plenty of trial and error.

The principle of evaporation hasn’t changed, but finding our own way to put a Thorn Tower to work here on the Scottish West Coast has been an incredible learning curve. And so it continues, with a little patience and plenty of help from the West Coast winds and sea.

#blackthorntower #seasalt by @blackthornsalt

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9 days ago

No two Blackthorn crystals are the same, and this week’s batch has really given our Salters some lovely ones to… well, gawp at!

They begin as tiny, transparent cubes, each no bigger than a grain of sand, scattered across the Pans. With gentle warmth and time, the edges of the cubes stretch out in striations and the heavier centre dips down, creating inverted pyramids.

Together, they appear as slowly swirling and sparkling constellations floating on the amber surface of the brine (NB: favourite time for Salter-gawping or crystal-spotting!).

Eventually, there is movement in the liquid and the pyramid becomes unevenly weighted, so one edge dips below the surface, allowing brine in. The added weight gently carries the new crystal to the bottom of the Pan, ready to be harvested.

It all happens slowly, and deliberately. That same gentle and patient approach continues as we bring the Sister Tower fully into our salt-making process. She’s contributing a wee bit to production, but won’t be able to run at full capacity until sometime in 2027.

As you can see, there is plenty happening at Blackthorn, with the Towers and in the Pans, and we are working as hard as we can. But when so much relies on natural forces and the environment, well, it takes time.

We are so grateful to everyone for being patient and bearing with us.

#blackthornsalt #saltcrystals by @blackthornsalt

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16 days ago

It’s been busy lately…

💚 customer visit to the Borders for an amazing tour and lunch #FarneSalmon who use Blackthorn for some of their bespoke and super special lines.

💚 welcoming the @simpsinns chefs to Blackthorn HQ, a closer look at how Blackthorn is made.

💚 mini Tower model and Yuliia were off to the Scottish Parliament for a Meet the Supplier event. Thank you Chef Dean Scott and the team.

💚 trade show in London with our bigger model; Natural & Organic Food Show! A brilliant few days catching up with familiar faces, meeting new customers and discovering the work of fellow producers. @naturalorganicfoodshow

💚 the written word- Blackthorn was kindly featured in Reforesting Scotland’s Coast magazine, alongside inspiring coastal projects/folk: Mark Williams, Old Mill Arts, Appin Coastal Rowing Club, Seaweed Scotland... @markwildfood @old_mill_arts @seaweedscotland

💚 thank you again to everyone for being so patient while the Sister Tower has her September Power Shower to dampen down those tannins, she’s now contributing a wee bit of brine, nearly there!!! 🙌 taken in Ayr by @blackthornsalt

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a month ago

The flavour bomb! What we didn’t know when started was how much the Tower would influence flavour.

Our Thorn Tower is used for sustainable evaporation: it reduces each batch by around 90% entirely naturally, powered simply by the wind and the sun (and a bit more wind!). 26,000 litres of seawater are concentrated into just 2,000 litres of rich brine, while an incredible 24,000 litres simply disappears magically into the air.

Yet, as the seawater trickles through the Tower’s blackthorn spines, it picks up crucial tannins from the bark. These contribute earthy and umami notes that help make Blackthorn Salt so distinctive.

This is then compounded in the Pan House, where days are spent, rather than hours creating the final crystals. The wealth of minerals naturally present in the seawater of Scotland’s west coast are retained in decent quantities which have significant flavour consequence. Rich in calcium (which draws out sweetness), potassium and magnesium (for bitterness and sourness) as well as the sodium chloride, Blackthorn brings more than saltiness to a dish, it adds balance, depth and complexity to the ingredients you’re cooking with so that their tastes can be captured at their very best. by @blackthornsalt

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4 months ago

Autumn sounds coming into Blackthorn…🌊

First the wind: After a muggy, humid summer, when the air was already full, these cool breezy mornings are a gift for our Thorn Towers. The West Coast winds are perfect for the job, evaporating 24,000 litres of seawater every few days.

Then the trickle, finding its way down through 149 wooden taps and countless thorns, turning slowly from sea into amber brine. That colour comes from the thorns themselves, the Towers imparting a little of their blackthorn tannins as the liquid makes its way down.

Then the Pan House, where our pans Allyson, Oswald and Bell (each name harks back to the old Ayrshire salt making that thrived on this very spot) are kept busy as our Salters keep a close eye. No boiling, no bleaching, no seeding, washing or adding of anything at all: just time, nature and the elements, with a fair bit of muscle come harvest.🙌

And last, the sound we never tire of: the flakes drying out with that light, flakey ‘tinkle’.

#blackthornsalt #scottishseasalt #autumnsounds by @blackthornsalt

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23 days ago

Often, the things that worry us today are things we once only dreamed we’d have the chance to be worried by.

It is a good thing to wind back the clock and get some perspective.

There are always going to be the everyday challenges - the weather, the next harvest, a damaged delivery; and the bigger issues — how to flush the Sister Tower as thoroughly as possible, how and where do we put in the next Pans, how do we navigate maternity leave. These things are valid concerns, but sometimes we let them consume us.

This is a reminder to ourselves to take stock, stand back, breathe, and be grateful.

And we wouldn’t be here without the amazing cohort of customers who choose Blackthorn, cook with it, stock it, recommend it, and keep coming back for that second box. We are incredibly lucky.

Thank you also to @adamhandling for inspiring us to look at things this way… our old selves viewing Blackthorn today.

#blackthornsalt #thenandnow by @blackthornsalt

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a month ago

In Scotland, for centuries, seawater was simply boiled in pans wherever a fuel source (coal/peat/wood) was available close to the shoreline. Salt was essential for daily life in the pre-refrigeration age, but it was all about quantity, not quality.

Our first Salt Pan is named after the fisher wife Alyson, whose pans existed right under our feet and appear to date back to medieval times.

Our second Pan is called Oswald, after the family who owned the more sophisticated 1765 pans whose cottages we can see clearly from our Tower-top at Marybrough.

The 3rd and youngest Blackthorn Pan is christened Belle after the nearby Bellrock Pan, which has records dating back to 1720, although there were doubtless salty operations going on there earlier.

Even our address, Salt Pans Road, holds a little of that history. Old maps show the coal pits and waggon tracks that supplied the pans, while circular air vents can still be spotted along the tideline in front of the Tower. Our Blackthorn carriage sits on the now-disused railway tracks, another little connection to the coast’s working past.

In the 1800s, the protective salt taxes levied on salt coming into Scotland that kept Scottish salt pans thriving were repealed in 1822-25 and the Scottish salt-industry quickly declined with the influx of cheaper English rock salt.

These days, the sea, wind and sun help us along, and we focus hugely on quality over quantity. Despite using a completely different method, and making a completely different salt, we feel very privileged to carry salt-making along this coastline forward.

We like to think a pinch of Blackthorn tells you something about Scotland, and the generations who have made salt along its shores. If not, at least it will bring flavour 💚

@scotfooddrink “Every Bite Tells a Story”.

#saltmaking #ayrshirecoast #blackthornsalt by @blackthornsalt

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a month ago

Every shift in temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction and seawater salinity shapes our days at Blackthorn. Salter Malky, watches closely and anticipates the weather’s changing moods to ensure the Towers work smoothly. There are no less than 149 wooden taps to adjust in order to maximise efficiency!

Recently the heatwave brought unusually humid conditions. With more moisture in the air, natural evaporation slowed, meaning the seawater took far longer to concentrate fully. And we’re so sorry for any delays this may have caused!

Thankfully, the west coast has now settled back into its familiar rhythm, allowing the wind to work its magic and create incredible tannined brine on the Towers from which we are able to form Blackthorn flakes.

#blackthornsalt #saltmaking by @blackthornsalt

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2 months ago