Which shaker DOES the salt go in? Does it matter? There is an actual salt and pepper rule. To identify the salt and pepper shakers, it all has to do with the number and size of the holes and your level of commitment to insanity.
People are creatures of habit and of doing things just because that's the way they're done. This is the only explanation for why we leave pie to the end of the meal instead of the more obvious choice of EATING IT FIRST. It's just the way it's done.
Unless it's Blueberry pie because blueberry pie as you probably know is one of The 4 True Pies all of which can be eaten before, during or after meals.
The other thing most of us do is put the salt in the shaker with the most amount of holes. The pepper goes in the shaker with the fewer amount of holes. That is the "rule".
The Salt & Pepper Shaker Rule
Because we're law abiding citizens and we like to follow rules to help maintain a balanced life and orderly society, we do this. We follow the salt and pepper rule.
Well I am here to tell you right now that society is about to become unhinged. It might make more sense to break the salt and pepper rule. I know. Everybody calm down.
I broke all the rules when I went on record declaring I didn't like the Instant Pot after testing it for a month.
Here's the reasoning behind my thumbing my nose at social norms for salt and pepper. Pepper is bigger and lighter. It has a harder time flowing out of the holes. Salt is finer and heavier. It has an easier time flowing out of holes. So doesn't it make sense to put the pepper in the shaker with more holes, and the salt in the shaker with fewer holes?
Yes. I think it does. It does make sense.
And before you start running for the bomb shelter and screaming through the streets, consider this. I actually changed my salt and pepper shakers over 9 years ago. And since then society has stayed pretty much the same. Aside from ... you know.
Of course I don't really use my salt and pepper shakers. I have the pepper grinder I turned myself for all my pepper needs.
And for salt I keep it in a wood bowl and usually just use my fingers to grab some. Why yes, I *do* get salt under my nails every time I do this.
I know about now you're thinking about switching around your salt and pepper shakers but you're worried. What will people think of you? What will happen at the next family dinner when people shake the salt and pepper comes flying out? Nothing. Nothing will happen. Frankly their eyebrows will be so long they won't be able to see which is which anyway.
Fun Facts About Salt
1. Until 100 years ago or so, pound bars of salt were the basic currency in Abyssinia (now called Ethiopia). Some say in very small regions it is still treated as currency.
2. In the early 1800s salt was 4 times as expensive as beef on the frontier – it was essential in keeping people and livestock alive.
3. Kosher salt is indeed, not kosher. It gets its name because the larger salt you know as kosher salt, is what was used when koshering (removing blood from) meat. Larger, salt crystals allowed the surface blood to be removed without absorbing into the meat. So kosher salt could be washed off without affecting the taste of the meat unlike a fine salt.
4. There are 32 references to salt in the bible, the first one being in The Book of Job.
5. Salt is poisonous. But only when consumed in large quantities. That's why in China it used to be a way of committing suicide. And quite a reputable one at that. All the upper crust chose to commit suicide by salt because it was so expensive. Even in a suicidal state there's time for elitism.
6. One of the first known taxes in the world was issued in the year 2200 BC by the Chinese emperor Hsia Yu. He taxed salt. Perhaps it was a way to cut down on suicides.
7. Throughout time, salt has typically been used as money. At one point it was known to trade at the same value as gold. So one ounce of salt was worth the same as an ounce of gold.
Fun Facts About Pepper
1. Historically, pepper was also worth a lot of money, but my sense is that the pepper people are just trying to keep up with all the good salt stories.
2. Andddd that about concludes the "interesting pepper facts".
Not convinced by the salt and pepper rules? You can drill bigger holes into your shakers. Read my tutorial about it here.
I take my garbage out daily so it sits in its newspaper lined paper bag . To the left of my sink. I won't forget it there. My salt & pepper each have their own pottery dish I like the feel of them between my fingers and know exactly what's been seasoned anyone else may Season to their liking.
Oh o now we're slut shaming all the crackhead queens in New Jersey hell? Good, I came to the right place.
I used to be able to whistle, but now I fear that my "teeth" would shoot across the room!
And as far as S & P: I am truly amazed that this many of your readers chose to reply on this subject! I buy coarse ground pepper in two shakers that have their own rules, and a clear glass shaker for salt (two, actually-one at the stove, one on the dining room table, same as the pepper). The salt one has about 20 holes in it. Sigh....I have enough messes to deal with-can't imagine the S & P granules that would fly all over the place if my spouse and our son used grinders! Obviously a great subject Karen. Well done!
I don't want to add to the confusion but here in the UK we normally have one hole in our salt shakers and many holes in our pepper shakers
I just grind both. I'm ultra lazy!
Ummmm...I'm no "foodie" and NEVER go by rules, so that being said, I have always done the pepper in the 3 holes and for some strange reason that that was "normal" and logical to me. I have to confess though I rarely have salt and pepper shakers on my table...(only when gutsy guests come like once or twice a year to see what weird things I'm up to) so I have the BIG Himalayan Salt shaker and pepper grinder on the table, no need for the tiny, nice looking ones to disturb the chaos on my kitchen table. ;-)
Ok, the librarian in me could not resist researching this. And... the answer is, there's no rule, and 'it depends'!
One could not get a more definitive answer than from the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum (who knew there was such a place!).
http://www.thesaltandpeppershakermuseum.com/1Question
Meanwhile - in my family the salt was always in the one-hole shaker. Now, I use a grinder anyway so any shaker will do for salt.
Maybe it's because I am a lefty and I am unbalanced anyways but no my trash doesn't ever and hasn't ever fit under the sink and the dog thanks me for my contributions to her afternoon snacks. My salt is a large flake kosher salt and won't ever and hasn't ever fit in a salt shaker so it sits in my my bamboo salt cellar. And lastly my pepper is bought as whole peppercorns and ground when I need it. Welcome to my world Alice!
That...makes so much sense. Now I have to go home and switch my salt and pepper.
I actually hoped this was going to solve a long-running family debate. My former mother-in-law insists on passing the salt and pepper together at the table. You ask for the salt, you get both. So now we all do it. I was hoping you were going to explain why this is a rule and that only heathens pass them separately--or come up with some reason it's weird to pass them together and free me from 20-some years of condiment bondage. Either is fine. Please.
PS: My trashcan is too big to fit under the sink, so I keep the recycling there instead. Neatly labeled "recycling" with sticky letters so no one mistakenly puts trash there!
I have multiple grinders - big ones for cooking and daintier ones that go on the table (yes, they make them - I found mine in a clearance aisle somewhere, I think). I had a really cool grinder that dispensed both salt and pepper, depending on which way you turned it, but it seems to have wandered off somewhere.
If you put your trash under the sink, you can't use a foot-pedal style can, and I like those for the hands-free-ness. Who wants to touch the icky garbage lid? Plus, I feel like the under-the-sink trash containers are made to take bags the size of grocery bags, and I prefer to use those "kitchen trash" sized bags and only take it to the curb once or twice a week (unless it's stinky).
My parents taught me when I was a kid that the salt goes in the one with the fewer holes because it pours out faster. So today you have boggled me by letting me know that people think it should be the other way around!
We use s&p shakers with metal tops specifically so my husband can use his drill to increase the size of the holes on the pepper shaker. He and his dad use a TON of pepper and don't have the patience to shake-a-shake-a-shake-a for the entire two minutes it would take for them to get all the pepper they want. ^_^
This must be a strangely Canadian/American thing. I have NEVER seen salt in a shaker with more holes than the pepper! If you look in any restaurant, the salt is usually the one with only 1 hole! In the UK & South Africa anyway... So this is one problem I don't ever have to worry about Karen! Thanks!
Best post ever. :) Thank you! Brought a smile to my face this morning.
That's my job. ~ karen!
5 kids and garbage is still under the sink, with recycling it takes too long to fill a big garbage can and by the time it is full it’s really stinky, small bag means it’s taken out every couple of days.
Now here’s the kicker, not very keen on pepper, it goes in the one with less holes in the shakers on the table, but I do use fresh ground pepper in my cooking so it stays by the stove with a salt shaker. It does not lead to extra salting, just a wee shake and potatoes and eggs are generally the only thing the salt on the table is used for.
How’s that for unbalanced!
I'm from the UK and we ALWAYS put the pepper in the one with many holes. The salt shakers have only one hole so there isn't too much coming out. It gets really confusing on holiday abroad as everyone else seems to do it the other way round. Now I shake one on my hand to see which is which. Which resulted in a giant salt mound when I was in a hotel which had salt in both ...
The salt categorically belongs in a single-holed cellar if one is not using a flaked version. Ready-ground pepper should not be a thing - pepper mills only. That is all!
(No rubbish kept under the sink here!)
Unhinged down under. Oh dear - my garbage bin is not in the cupboard under the sink - but in front of the dish drainer - next to the sink. It won't fit under the sink as I have a split recycling/rubbish type bin. Also...... I don't want to scare the huntsman (Harry) that lives under the sink by opening that cupboard too much. Huntsman Harry eats any cockroaches that venture into that cupboard - so he's a keeper. I have a salt and a pepper grinder - so no holes. But...would go with your rule any day as prefer pepper over salt. :-)
My curiosity is aroused.....what kind of creature is this Harry the Huntsman you speak of and where might I acquire one (or more) for my very own? I live next to a field and swath of trees and have more than my share of tree roaches that like to come visit. They just give me the icks but cause every other female of my acquaintance to shriek at ear splitting volume and dance around spastically like they've just been poked with a cattle prod! My ears are still ringing from the performance that my daughter and her best friend put on the other night!
You started my day with smile. Thank you. Harry the Huntsman is a spider that can get to about the size of a hand. They are quite hairy (so Harry the Hairy Huntsman) and scuttle about (very fast) to get their pray; they don't seem to jump. Totally harmless (unusual for Australia - not EVERYTHING is trying to kill us - well except drop bears). Great at catching and eating roaches and they eat other spiders and small geckoes as well. Daddy Longlegs are just as they sound - tiny body - enormous legs - they are keepers too - as they eat Redback Spiders and the little german cockroaches. Keep these guys around and you'll be roach free. Harry the Huntsman does sometimes end up in my shower in the morning - so onto a towel and back into the kitchen with him. Good luck with the screaming! :-)
OOh my goodness. I have always done it that way. I thought it was supposed to be that way because the salt came out so fast and pepper didn't. Silly me. I suppose it doesn't really matter because people will always sprinkle some in their hand to see which it is.
Salt has fewer letters than pepper so it goes in the one with fewer holes. Besides, you don’t need a lot of salt in your diet.
I change my S&P shakers seasonally. My piggies are white but sport red checked bandanas.
Garbage is out in open next to dishwasher, storage space is at a premium in this old house.