Talk:Salt and pepper shakers

Salt single hole, pepper multiple? Or the other way round?
The page lacks one important detail. I'd like to hear clarifications from experts on the matter of whether the nature of the contents, i.e. salt or pepper, may be deduced from the hole arrangement on each shaker. In an argument with a Polish colleague I contended that, at least in Western Europe and the North America, the salt would typically come from the single holed shaker, and pepper from the multiple holed container (notwithstanding such novelties as patterns of holes in the shape of 'S' and 'P'). At the time we were having breakfast at a hotel in Poland, where on all tables the hole arrangements were reversed from my previous experience while travelling. Since my companion declared he'd never known any other arrangement, I wondered whether in Slavic lands, or perhaps in the former Eastern Bloc, there was an reversed tradition in shaker holes. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.30.154.84 (talk) 07:51, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Update: I've now discovered that Germans also believe the single hole to imply pepper, and multiple to imply salt, just like my Polish colleague.

Having visited Moscow, I found single hole shakers contained Pepper and Multiple Holes contained Salt. In contrast, being from the UK, I was brought up with single hole for Salt and Multiple for Pepper - where Salt flow out of the shaker was more rapid through just one hole when compared to Pepper though multiple holes. 81.211.8.2 (talk) 19:26, 30 June 2008 (UTC)Mark


 * In the USA, until recently it's been multiple holes for salt, fewer (or one) holes for pepper. I understand that's beginning to change given how people are trying to reduce their sodium intake.  So it's not a safe bet these days to know which is which unless they're labeled or transparent.  There's so little certainty in the world! - Denimadept (talk) 22:32, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

Salt mill usage declining?
I just -tagged the statement that usage of salt mills is declining. I'm not trying to be hardcore here, but I thought that the opposite was the case -- that use of tabletop salt mills was becoming more common, and that they were perhaps even a recent fad -- but I can't seem to find any references to their history. -- Thinking of England (talk) 03:11, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Pepperpot
Besides the dish (a meat stew), what is a pepperpot or pepper pot? Wiktionary suggests that it is a synonym for pepper shaker, but while I can't find a good reference, other usages suggest that it is synonymous with pepper grinder. (My hunch is that it is an alliterative term meant to accompany salt shaker or salt cellar, but I don't know if it is most often used to refer to a pepper shaker or a pepper mill.) The pepperpot disambiguation page lists several things that are named due to their resemblance to pepperpots, but does not explain what one is. -- Thinking of England (talk) 03:28, 22 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Pepper pot is a synonym for pepper shaker. You see it pretty often in antique catalogs, along with pepper caster. Pepper pot is older than pepper shaker.  All the following are terms for "a small box or bottle with a perforated top used to sprinkle pepper":  pepper shaker (1895); pepper-pot (1838); pepper caster (1679); pepper-box (1546).  Pepper mill is from 1739, but early pepper mills were not such as you would use at your table, I expect.  I haven't seen a source that says pepper-pot equals pepper mill, but language is a living thing. Richigi (talk) 20:22, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

Removed citation
Removed a reference from end of sentence 1, which describes the purpose of salt and pepper shakers. The source was a website that no longer showed the pertinent info. I don't think a citation is necessary for this information (see citation guide), so I didn't replace it. Richigi (talk) 16:38, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

Removed OR
Removed the following bracketed text used to transmit cultural perspectives about race, (friendship), and other cultural values. The statement was sourced but the source turned out to be a children's picture book. Presumably the editor drew the conclusion from an incident therein...even if the source were something less quaint, it would still constitute original research. Richigi (talk) 18:49, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Third shaker
I came to this article looking for information on the infamous "third shaker" people report as extant in some antique dining sets - salt, pepper, and a mystery third, whom no-one can remember or knows what for.

I'm surprised there's no coverage of whether it's apocryphal or not here; granted, snopes throws up no results. What I can find seems to be an entry in Bill Bryson's book At Home, published in 2010; on tumblr, someone posted a minor investigation with some sources - it may have been mustard, it may have been sugar. However, this source raises the fact that it might have just been...vinegar. Or sugar sometimes. Or mustard, depending on what you wanted.

I'll have a look into At Home, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was apocryphal that "no-one knew what it was for"; if anyone else has any thoughts, please do chime in.--Ineffablebookkeeper (talk) (&#123;&#123;ping&#125;&#125; me!) 22:45, 3 March 2022 (UTC)


 * I think it was mustard! Please see link along with google searches for mustard spice shaker
 * https://www.etsy.com/listing/1421820042/vintage-spice-rack-wood-shelf-oil 2600:6C5A:17F:E3FE:B54C:14A7:897D:C8C2 (talk) 07:01, 27 April 2023 (UTC)


 * This is interesting. I would have assumed the third shaker would be sugar for ones tea, but there werre already sugar bowls with milk/cream pots. Of course Ketchup did not exist then (at least as we know it, it was originally a fish sauce). I suppose that mustard fell out of style since it was a hot spice like pepper and was thus redundant, while mustard became a sauce condiment. I would have guessed that cinnamon or nutmeg would be used. I recall as a child that we had a third shaker filled with a mix of cinnamon and sugar to put on buttered toast. 2601:185:8280:2240:BF27:B72A:F9AF:2E36 (talk) 20:07, 4 July 2023 (UTC)
 * I've wondered if it's dried/dehydrated vinegar. It's something that would've been accessible to everyone. Aaomidi (talk) 11:55, 2 June 2024 (UTC)