Salty Chat: From Farming to Salty Greenhouse on San Juan Island
A conversation with Brady Ryan of San Juan Island Sea Salt
If you haven’t yet met Brady Ryan of San Juan Island Sea Salt, you’re in for a treat. I first discovered their salts at the Good Food Awards Mercantile in Portland, where I snagged a jar of their Kimchi Salt and was met with the teams’ passion for flavor. I use their Madrona smoked salt at my tasting events as well. But beyond the product, I was eager to dig into the story behind the brand, the sustainability practices, and their unique drying process.
Dava: Let’s start with the basics. How did San Juan Island Sea Salt come to be?
Brady: I grew up on San Juan Island, a beautiful place in the Pacific Northwest. My first experiment with salt-making was in college—I read about people doing an all-local Thanksgiving, and they made their own salt. So my friend and I tried boiling seawater on my parents’ stove. The result? A total mess. The salt was terrible, but the process left an imprint on me.
Fast forward a few years—I was working on a vegetable farm near Seattle, building greenhouses. My girlfriend (now wife) showed me a video of someone in Maine using greenhouses for solar evaporation. A lightbulb went off. I thought, I can build a greenhouse. My parents have land. Why not try this? That was 2012. We started with one greenhouse, and now, 13 years later, I’m looking at 14 greenhouses full of salt.
Dava: I love that! So, do you still operate on your parents’ land?
Brady: Yep! I’m literally staring at the greenhouses right now. My parents have a 40-acre farm, and I use about half an acre for the salt. It’s just the right size for our production, though every year we think about growing.
Dava: What influences the flavor of your salt the most?
Brady: What really matters is how you evaporate the water—how fast, how slow, and whether you separate different mineral stages. Our process is totally hands-off, just like a tide pool evaporating in the sun. It creates a wild mix of crystal formations, which makes our salt unique.
Dava: Speaking of crystals, you have different salt structures in your product—can you break that down?
Brady: Sure! We have our raw salt, which is totally unrefined and full of wild and unpredictable crystals. Most of it is too big for culinary use, so we grind and sift it into our standard sea salt. But we also pull out the “baby crystals”—tiny, naturally occurring flakes that don’t need grinding. We call that our Reserve Salt, and I love that because it’s just pure, untouched beauty.
Dava: One of the things I admire about your process is the sustainability aspect. Can you describe that in more detail?
Brady: Absolutely. Our salt is made entirely with solar power—just sunshine and time. No boilers, no machinery. Plus, because we do everything by hand—harvesting, sifting, jarring—our carbon footprint is minimal. It’s funny, but sustainability happens naturally when you’re a small business. It’s not about fancy certifications, just simple, efficient practices.
Dava: Beyond salt, your team also makes seasonings and even sweets. How did that happen?
Brady: It started with, What else can we do with salt? We got into smoking it, and my brother—who’s the culinary brain—began creating spice blends. Now, seasonings make up most of our sales. The caramels were another fun experiment. I was beekeeping at the time, so we decided to make honey-based salted caramels. Turns out, people love candy.
Dava: Your blends are so creative, like the blueberry habanero salt. I know I love both your plain sea salt and the madrona smoked, and I’m trying many other flavors that we hope to share soon on the site. Do you find that people gravitate toward the adventurous flavors?
Brady: Not as much as you’d think! We love the funky stuff, but our best-sellers are pretty classic—popcorn seasoning, garlic salt, taco blends. People like what they understand. That said, I do think smaller sizes could help introduce more unusual flavors.
Dava: Your passion for salt-making is clear. What’s something about your process that people might not realize?
Brady: I don’t think most of our customers know we actually farm the salt. It’s not just scooped up from a factory. Watching crystals grow is magical. Every batch is different. There’s an art to it. If I could, I’d love to turn this into a full agritourism experience—like a winery, but for sea salt.
Dava: That would be incredible. What’s next for San Juan Island Sea Salt?
Brady: Right now, we’re expanding our wholesale business, maybe getting into bigger stores like Whole Foods. But my heart is with the independent shops—the ones where the owners really know their products. That’s who I want to support.
Dava: Last question: what’s one thing you wish more people understood about salt?
Brady: That it’s magical. People see it as this boring ingredient, but it’s ancient, essential, and full of history. Every culture has made salt in some way. It’s so much more than just the white stuff in a shaker.
Brady’s enthusiasm for salt is contagious, and I couldn’t agree more—salt is a small but powerful ingredient that deserves more attention. If you’re looking to taste the magic for yourself, check out San Juan Island Sea Salt in our shop. And keep an eye out—we might just take Brady up on his salt farm tour idea one day!
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