FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. — At his Friday Harbor farm, Brady Ryan is expected to produce 20,000 pounds of salt this year.
He has fourteen salt houses, which are similar to greenhouses.
"We bring in crystal clear seawater from the ocean, which is about 3 miles away. It gets moved in a 50-year-old truck we call Fred. Then sunshine hits it and it does the work," Brady explained. "There's no fan, no heaters, no propane, nothing, just a natural process."
Brady says it's just simple evaporation; and for the water to produce salt, it only takes a month in the summer and two months in the spring and fall.
Winter is the quiet period.
Brady still remembers what it was like the first time he learned of this process and set out to do it.
"It was like magic. I was like a little kid. It doesn't just form perfect little cubic crystals like you think of Morton's salt," Brady shared. "It forms a wide array of sizes and shapes. It's this wild thing, so I remember being surprised and excited like a little kid."
With the salt produced each year, his San Juan Island Salt produces 40 different seasoning blends, from sweet treats like salted caramels to smoky seasonings like the Madrona Smoked Sea Salt. The most popular is the popcorn seasoning.
"We just get giddy about it every time and we've been doing it for ten years. Every time the salt comes up, it's like magic, like who knows how it works? But it happens and we love it," exclaimed Brady.
Sponsored by Kenmore Air. KING 5's Evening celebrates the Northwest. Contact us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email.