Experimenting with Gloucester Sea Salt: Building and tweaking my evaporator

Written By Miraj Budak

Harvesting my own sea salt has been a dream of mine for a while and now that I’ve built an evaporator, I’m in full-on experiment mode—tweaking, adjusting, and battling the elements to get the purest, most flavorful Gloucester sea salt possible.

DIY evaporator build:

Part science experiment, part battle against the elements, 100% worth the wait for that perfect Gloucester sea salt!

It all starts with collecting seawater, which is no small task in the middle of winter. Trekking over the ice and snow-covered jagged granite shoreline, trying to time the waves to toss out my collection bucket so that it will fill. The waves were too strong for me to collect more than two gallons at a time. Then, lugging it from the ocean to my house was an adventure in itself, but once I had it home, I ran it through my filtering process to remove any unwanted debris before pouring it into my evaporation saltern trays.

Right now, I’m testing different sizes and setups to see which produces the best salt crystals. I started by leveling the trays on bricks, but the wind had other plans—knocking them off balance and spilling brine more than I’d like to admit. And then, of course, there’s the cold. Snow, freezing temperatures, and the general stubbornness ness of New England weather have slowed things down, making me rethink placement and design.

DIY sea salt evaporator setup in Gloucester, MA – filtering and evaporating Atlantic Ocean water to create pure, handcrafted sea salt using homemade saltern trays. Coastal New England salt-making process

First Test-Run

Turning ocean water into pure Gloucester sea salt with one DIY evaporator, a few bricks, and a whole lot of trial and error!

Next week, we’re getting a bit of a warm-up, so I’m hoping to really dial in the best spot for my evaporator and figure out which saltern tray works most efficiently. The goal? Perfectly flaky, mineral-rich sea salt that captures the essence of Gloucester’s waters.

Gloucester sea salt logo – handcrafted, artisanal sea salt branding inspired by the Atlantic Ocean and coastal New England heritage

Introducing the face of my Gloucester sea salt—pure, natural, and crafted with care. This logo captures the heart of the coast and the essence of the sea!

This process has been a challenge, but I'm loving every step of it—tweaking, learning, and getting closer to a product that’s as natural and delicious as it gets. Stay tuned for more updates as I continue refining my process!

Miraj Budak