German Products

The Salt Table brings famed Salt from Halle, Germany to America, again!

An economic development partnership between companies based in Halle, Germany and Savannah, Georgia, renews a salt tradition centuries after Halle salt was first introduced to Colonial Georgia.

The two companies, Salt Table LLC, based in Savannah, and Deutsches Salinekontor GmbH, based in Halle, have agreed to sell Halle salt and Salt Table seasonings products in each country. The Salt Table produces and salts and seasoning blends in the United States. Halle salt is produced by the Hallore Company and distributed in Germany by Deutsches Salinekontor GmbH. The Hallore Company founded in 1497 is also based in Halle, Germany. The “boilt salz” (boiled salt) it produces comes from brine deep underground. For thousands of years the brine at this location has been boiled to produce a very pure salt.

Two men work over a boiling cauldron of brine in Halle, Germany. As the water evaporates, the men rake in the condensed salt that is then shovel and deposited above them on heavy fabric. This allows the remaining water to filter out. This process has been used for thousands of years. Halle salt is among the purest salts in the world.

The connection between the cities and salt goes back to the year following James Oglethorpe’s founding of Savannah in 1733, when the first group of Salzburgers arrived from Germany. These settlers were descendants of refugees forced to leave Salzburg, Austria, due to their Lutheran beliefs. With the help of Oglethorpe they claimed a spot along the Savannah River and founded the town of Ebenezer, near today’s Rincon, Georgia. (Today Ebenezer is home to the German Salzburger Society.) The first two pastors of Ebenezer were educated at The Francke Foundation in Halle. The citizens of Ebenezer soon began trade with Halle, including silk. It is safe to say that the Salzburgers brought with them their precious Halle salz.

In August 2015, after several years of discussion a meeting between Dave Legasse of the Salt Table and Thomas Staudenmayer, of Deutsches Salinekontor resulted in an agreement of reciprocal trade. The products include a proprietary salt and spice blend developed and produced by the Salt Table in Pooler, Georgia. It combines Halle salt with other spices under the name of Savannah Halle Grinder Blend. In addition, pure Hallore salt is bottled by the Salt Table in the United States. These products are available in both countries.

This is the first two-way economic development collaboration to emerge since the 2012 Sister City merger between Savannah and Halle as established by Sister Cities International, a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between communities of the world.

A singular important person and a strong proponent in the development of this “salt” relationship is Sabine Pröschel, an ardent supporter and organizer of the Sister City initiative. “After close to ten years of efforts to bring the sister city relationship between Halle and Savannah to life, it is wonderful to see and be part of its first business collaboration. This special product does not just taste amazing, it also serves as a symbol of our sister city friendship.”

These products can be purchased online by clicking below, or at Salt Table shops. These products are also available at the Georgia Salzburger Society Museum at Ebenezer, GA (near Rincon, GA).  The products are available for wholesale in both countries. For more information on wholesale opportunities visit  www.salttable.com.

For more information about the Georgia Salzburger Society Click HERE!