Bamboo Leaf Salt is a pure, hand-harvested Molokai sea salt to which bamboo leaf extract has been added. Molokai sea salt has 16% trace mineral content - wowza! This unique salt adds delicate tea-leaf taste and aroma, jade-green color, a silky texture, and abundant health benefits. Certified organic, bamboo leaf extract is abundant in amino acids, antioxidants, and vitamins. It has been used by people in Southern China for thousands of years in teas as a health aid, research indicates that its use may account for the longevity of these people as well.
Sprinkle with wild abandon on beef and pepper stir-fry, chicken marbella with prunes and olives, braised beef, yakisoba noodles, chopped chicken salad, grilled peppers and onions, salted caramel sauces (seriously!). One of our favorite ways to enjoy Bamboo Leaf is very simply with steamed rice, a poached or fried egg, and chili crisp.
The Making of Our Hawaiian Sea Salts
Most of our Hawaiian sea salts are made on salt farms located in Kaunakakai, on the tiny island of Molokai -- and for a very important reason. In terms of distance from other land masses, the Hawaiian Island archipelago is the most isolated place on earth, which means that the ocean waters of Hawaii are as pristine as any on the planet.
The saltmaker uses a solar evaporation technology wherein seawater is injected into hermetically sealed, food-grade solar pans and allowed to slowly evaporate, yielding nature's own perfect salt crystals. The resulting finishing salt is a very clean and yet full-flavored, ultra-pure red salt that is just 84% sodium chloride, and 16% naturally occurring elements--over 80 total, including critical ocean electrolytes and trace minerals.
This salt is painstakingly harvested under the supervision of certified salt masters, who are members of the Salt Masters Guild of Hawaii, an association formed with the goal of reinvigorating the thousand-year tradition of salt making as practiced by the ancient Hawaiian culture. The guild also trains selected Molokai residents in the saltmaking process, providing them with a fulfilling, respectable career consistent with island culture.
The origin of any gourmet salt is a critical factor in assessing its various qualities. Ordinary table salts, along with many specialty brands‚ are super-heated, processed and treated to remove impurities and pollution. However, such drastic steps also remove the very electrolytes, trace minerals and elements our bodies crave, resulting in salt that is approximately 99% sodium chloride‚ thus missing much of the health- and beauty-giving properties of the primordial ocean from which all life on earth arose.
But even within Hawaii, Molokai is special. Molokai is the least developed of the Islands of Aloha, with only a few thousand residents, no major resort areas, and no industry; its lifestyle remains rural and slow paced. Because of this, the waters surrounding Molokai suffer no industrial or sewage runoff, the very things that destroy the delicate balance of ocean water. In fact, Papohaku Opal's ocean water (and that of its sister salts, Haleakala Ruby and Kilauea Onyx) is actually tested to conform to bottled-water standards of purity.
Made in Hawaii!
