Did you know that Colima is an ideal state to produce salt? This is due to the combination of its lands, rainwater, and springs formed by the Pacific Ocean. To discover this ingredient, the Salt Route begins in Manzanillo, Colima. It consists of 74 kilometers, from the mangrove area to the production area and the Cuyutlán Lagoon, which offers panoramic views of a desert of white clouds surrounded by water. The trip takes approximately three hours.
PRE-HISPANIC LEGACY
“It is good to be salty here,” reads a sign at the entrance of the Sal Real de Colima company, one of the most important producers of 100% natural salt in the state and the country. The tours take place at nine a.m., allowing the visitor to see how salt is worked, a process that dates back to pre-Hispanic times and has been passed from generation to generation.
The walk begins in the salt mine. There, one can witness this production method and the extraction, which, it should be noted, is done without damaging the environment. The salt mines, they explain, are a thin layer of salt that forms on the seawater’s surface during the crystallization eras, only visible between April and May, when it is harvested.
Upon arrival, we admired a snow-capped mountain in the distance, although without pine trees or skiers. Around it, there are smaller ones: the salt that the salineros have been collecting. “The process is artisanal, very delicate, and is done manually with the help of a special sieve (a type of shovel), which has a fine mesh according to the traditional method, and then lets the salt rest for a year during which it loses moisture. ”explains one of the guides. “Eventually, it becomes the expected ingredient in many restaurants.”
Banks were first made (an elevation of sticks, earth, and stones on both sides of a river or pond) to let the salt water evaporate with the sun. Hence, the benefits of Colima salt are that it contains 30% less sodium than ordinary salt and is rich in minerals and trace elements of seawater.
A FINAL HINT
After harvesting, the salt is manually taken to the selection, packaging, and sealing process. At the end of the tour, the guides take us to the product exhibition area, where we find various salts, including those used to cook the famous pork beans or pipián, emblematic dishes of Colima gastronomy.
The tour is also the ideal opportunity to try artisan
salt and fleur de sel, discover their texture, smell, and
sensation, and purchase salts to continue enjoying at
home. To finish the experience, you can continue your
visit to the Salt Museum, also located in Coyutlán,
and learn more about the history and tradition of this
Colima cultural heritage.
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