Volcano Salt Baked Red Snapper

Recently I was introduced to this special salt through a vendor who specialises in finding obscure ingredients from all over the archipelago. This salt comes from 100’s of meters below ground at the base of Gunung Kendeng- central Java.

Salt water has been trapped underground from a natural spring for millions of years in this region. The local people have been harvesting it pre Dutch colonial times. Due to the location of the salt water, the process of making the salt is much more difficult than that of ocean salt.

It starts with lowering a bucket tied on a rope 100’s of meters below the earth’s surface through a mine. Then one by one lifting the bucket up through to the surface full of heavy ancient salt water.

The salt water is then poured into split bamboo trough’s and left to dry under the hot Java sun. The entire process takes several weeks with an end result in a high mineral content, 100% organic salt.

*Note, this is a very rare & special salt. The following recipe is easily adaptable by substituting your favourite organic sea salt. Don’t panic, just keep it organic!

Images of the salt mining process: