where do you buy fleu de sel
 

i am in southern california, usa. for california posters, do you know where i can buy thins special salt? thanks.

oops, i meant fleur de sel.

Bristol Farms in So. Pasadena has it and so does WholeFoods Market in Woodland Hills and the Full o' Life stores, I'm not sure of a place in Anaheim.

Any decent gourmet shop and places like William Sonoma.

You can also get assorted varieties of fleur de sel on line. Try
joiedevivre.com.

Anyone going to France should buy some there. It is very expensiv here . I bring back for gifts the colorful round cork top box of Camargue Fleur de sel and the sacks in Brittany. Do not put in the cooking. You sprinkle on the dish before serving and it truly brings out the flavors.

Penzey's Spices - order on line from their website, or even better, check out their retail stores - there's one in Torrance.

I'm curious, why not use it in cooking?
I think I have before, I wonder what it did to the dish?

SeaUrchin,

You can use it in cooking; no harm done. It's just that it is so expensive, and the complexity of the flavor is lost when cooked. So it's best to use is it as a "finisher"---sprinkled on just before serving.

I bought mine in Trader Joes.
I think you don't use it in cooking ( they say not to because it is extravagant, I guess , because it costs more than regular salt) but I find it takes very little to salt an entire dish, so using it while cooking might make things too salty.
It should be used as a condiment and not as an ingredient :)

you lose it if in cooking!

A wonderful use for fleur de sel is a sprinkle of it on baguette spread with unsalted, preferably European-style, butter. Yum!

here are photos of the ones I buy in Provence and Brittany
http://splendidpalate.stores.yahoo.net/frhesesa.html

YES! Underhill..we first encountered that in Brittany..when the little pot of unsalted butter was always served with a small bowl of fleur de sel! Lord it is so good!

On the question of where to buy, I always bring home plenty from France, but if I run out Wm-Sonoma store near my house carries it or it can be ordered online. I've never really checked to ser if my Whole Foods or Fresh Market carry it but I wouldn't be at all surprised if hey did.