From Ancient Mayan Trade Routes
to Your Table
“The earliest evidence that has been found of the Mayan salt production is dated at about 1000 b.c. … It may be an exaggeration to claim that the great Mayan civilization rose and fell over salt. However, it rose by controlling salt production and prospered on the ability to trade salt, flourishing in spite of constant warfare over control of salt sources.”
Salt, Mark Kurlansky
White Gold or Mayan Sea Salt has been the subject of numerous books and scholarly papers written about the trade routes of the ancient Mayans. Some have estimated that 3 to 6 tons of sea salt per day had to be transported by canoe and on human backs into the interior to supply the Mayan people whose population then is estimated to have been greater than the population of the same region today. This sea salt was produced on both sides of Central America in what is now Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, and even into Honduras and El Salvador. Recently discovered archeology sites (many now underwater) attest to the vastness of this ancient enterprise. Our FDA-registered operation is within walking distance of one of the Mayan sites depicted in the lower-central section of this map of ancient salt works.
The Mayans needed the salt for their health but you can have it to add a savory but not “salty” finish to your most demanding recipes. Unaltered straight from the sea to your table - Learn what Picky Chefs already know
Not all salts are created equal.
You don’t skimp on anything else in your recipe, why skimp on the salt?
Salt, Mark Kurlansky
White Gold or Mayan Sea Salt has been the subject of numerous books and scholarly papers written about the trade routes of the ancient Mayans. Some have estimated that 3 to 6 tons of sea salt per day had to be transported by canoe and on human backs into the interior to supply the Mayan people whose population then is estimated to have been greater than the population of the same region today. This sea salt was produced on both sides of Central America in what is now Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, and even into Honduras and El Salvador. Recently discovered archeology sites (many now underwater) attest to the vastness of this ancient enterprise. Our FDA-registered operation is within walking distance of one of the Mayan sites depicted in the lower-central section of this map of ancient salt works.
The Mayans needed the salt for their health but you can have it to add a savory but not “salty” finish to your most demanding recipes. Unaltered straight from the sea to your table - Learn what Picky Chefs already know
Not all salts are created equal.
You don’t skimp on anything else in your recipe, why skimp on the salt?
Suggested Reading
There are books written about Salt - A mineral steeped in history
In Her Element: Sea Salt, Surrender, and A Journey to a Whole Life
Selina Delangre, Owner of Selina Naturally and Celtic Sea Salt
Salted: A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes by Mark Bitterman
Mark's company The Meadow carries our salt
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
Cape Cod Bay: A History of Salt & Sea
Salt Warriors: Insurgency on the Rio Grande (Canseco-Keck History Series) by Paul Cool
As a West Texas boy, I've got to read this one
Salt and Civilization by Samuel Adrian M. Adshead
Are you s______ me! Check out the price. Let me know how you like it.
The World of Salt Shakers, Antique & Art Glass Value Guide, Vol. 3
Get back with me on this one and let me know how you like it.
Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History by Penny Le Couteur
And some Cookbooks we like
Foods of the Maya: A Taste of the Yucatánby Nancy Gerlach
Nancy contributed one our recipes
Salt & Pepper by Sandra Cook, Sara Slavin and Deborah Jones
Salt: Cooking with the World's Favorite Seasoningby Valerie Aikman-Smith