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 more of a first grade approach: salt has fewer letters, goes in the one with fewer holes. Is your turned grinder ambrosia maple? It looks like the dining table my Fella made with a bench soon to be finished.
Funny you should mention the grinder, I was thinking the same thing! And a fun fact about ambrosia maple, it’s real name is wormy maple but that doesn’t sound nearly so nice, especially when my fella makes cheese boards for gifts lol. It would be stunning in a table, lucky you!
Perhaps the salt was historically placed in the shaker with more and larger holes because REAL salt... from the sea, is damp, and doesn't run so freely as "free running salt" does today... but that salt is DEAD, having been heated to 1200ºF to purify and denature it. And of course alst should be in a salt cellar... how else could one get a "pinch of salt" for their recipe... have you ever tried getting a pinch of salt out of shaker? So once again... you're right... if you're not going to use a pepper mill, put the pepper where it belongs.. in the big-holed shaker. P.S. I love pepper!
I have thrown away all conventions and I have a pepper and a salt grinder!!! I’m fancy like that. (And a wee pot by the stove for “finger sprinkling”)
Pepper in a shaker is just wrong, it get's stale and loses it's flavor. I have matching white grinders. I need to be able to grab the right one easily, so I wrapped a wide red rubber band around the pepper one. We also have a salt bowl. (Pros will hold their hand way up high over the food when salting to distribute it better).
We also have a cylindrical salt container that has kosher salt. I used whiteout to put matching marks on the top rim and rotating top to locate the right position. (Black felt pen on shakers with white tops)
I learned this week that Job and Abraham lived at about the same time even though they are miles apart in the Bible, Abraham being in the first book and Job being near the end. So yes, Job is one of the first references to salt in the Bible.
Hey don't argue with me. Go find a biblical scholar.
Oh, by the way, order the strawberries
Karen, I don’t know where you found this rule. My mother, who died at the age of 87 ALWAYS told me that the salt goes in the shaker with the lesser amount of holes, that way you could control the amount of salt with greater ease. I also have S &P shakers that have Salt and Pepper on them. The salt has 2 holes the pepper has 3. Anyway, pie is to be eaten at anytime, for breakfast, many times, on the way for morning chores, more times than I can count and for supper.
Love the blog, keep up the good work.
For 30+ years any of my shakers have salt in them and I use a grinder for my pepper.
All my salt and pepper problems were solved when my husband bought me a set of Peugot salt and pepper grinders. The same people that make high-falutin' sports cars! They give four different grind sizes and don't leave grit on my tablecloth. I love sets of ceramic S&P sets, but mine are all decorative.
Here in the UK, we have always used few holes for salt, lots of holes for pepper!
That is very true, indeed often a salt pot only had one slightly larger hole compared with several holes on the pepper pot. Times they are a changing though, and mini table grinders are increasingly popular - I just prefer to be able to quickly shake my seasoning.
My mother always put the pepper in the shaker with the most holes. Always. And she turned 92 last year so that has been a "while"...
Salt goes in the one with fewest holes. No need for argument, just look on EBAY and the purpose made all-in-one pots with salt imprinted have 2 holes and the pepper ones have 3. No need for thanks, all British people have always known this.
I also came to the conclusion pepper needs to be in the one with most holes and salt in the one with the least but from a different perspective. Time. I just made the observation that I spend a lot more time shaking the pepper than the salt, so I’m glad you made this observation as well. I’m in!!
Bah, what's this one-hole, three-hole thing? There are 13 holes on my salt AND pepper shakers. Old school glass shakers with a tin top. No debate, no need to choose and make one spice feel inferior to the other. :) Love my salt, love my pepper. Fun read and discussion though.
THEN WHY DOES THE BLACK PIG, WHICH YOU WOULD ASSOCIATE WITH PEPPER, HAVE THREE HOLES AND THE WHITE PIG TWO?! This is the same problem I've encountered with my kitty cat salt and pepper shakers!
apparently that is the correct way according to the salt and pepper shaker museum. for real. http://thesaltandpeppershakermuseum.com/
There is even a trick to remembering —pepper has 3 Ps. Three holes. So salt gets the single hole.
What really pisses me off is that I actually had to look up which goes in which!
Thanks for the chuckle and info!!
Ha!! Well, now you have to decide whether you're gonna break that "rule", lol. ~karen!
I do the salt with my fingers deal because I have bowls of fine and coarse salt at hand. No pepper shaker. I don't even like ground pepper particularly - I crack peppercorns with my cook's knife when I want some. And I have a compost bucket under the sink. Not earth-shattering, but there you have it.
What I really wanted to say was prompted by your last photo. Today I threw some leftover ratatouille on a bowl of steel cut oats. SO good.
Here I am, one of those unbalanced, shifty types that not only doesn't keep the kitchen garbage under the sink, I don't even have a lid on it. You can see what's in there without lifting a lid whether you want to or not. These days that probably proves I'm unbalanced. But hey, I can launch egg shells and banana peels and a myriad of other things from just about anywhere in my kitchen and hit that trash bucket without walking over to it. Okay, so I've had over 40 years of experience in that kitchen so no wonder I know the range.
As for the salt and pepper shakers I'll keep the salt in the one with the most holes as I'm an admitted saltaholic and I'll get my fix faster with more holes. The pepper shaker seldom makes it to the table and the grinder is by the stove. I do have a container of salt for cooking though that I tend to sprinkle with my fingers, like you do. I'm not totally unbalanced just yet but my son says I'm well on the way!
Unbalanced is fine I suppose. It's at least more interesting than balanced. ~ karen!
I've never thought about the salt and pepper rule, as I think my shakers have always been clearly marked. I only put them out these days when we have company for dinner as we also only season when cooking and use the grinder and bowl.
We actually have a garbage bin with a lid in our kitchen these days. I had hoped that making it visible would encourage my spouse to throw away his wrappers (it hasn't).