Fleur de sel & wild thyme

The flowering tops of the thyme are collected when in full bloom from abundant wild populations during the hottest days of the year in high altitudes around the remote and rocky area of Kallikratis, Sfakia.

In Crete, thyme grows spontaneously and widespread and large populations are found from sea level up to 1000-meter altitude, but several studies have shown that plants originating from higher altitudes are richer in thymol, a strong antiseptic and anti-bacterial substance. Thyme has been used medicinally for thousands of years. Beyond its common culinary application, it has been recommended for a myriad of indications, based upon proposed antimicrobial, antitussive, spasmolytic and antioxidant activity.

Fleur de sel (sea salt) is harvested from the marshes off the northern coast of Chania Province by hand without any kind of processing. Fleur de sel has more mineral complexity than common table salt and is the purest of all table salts. It also has a marvelous flavour compared to other salts drawing out the full flavors of the other ingredients.