Salt & Pepper Shakers: Flavor Versus Flow

No, we're not going old-school rap on you.

But we are going retro with a pair of vintage salt and pepper shakers we spotted at a yard sale over the weekend. They've got a charming design, are in excellent condition, and are a great example of reuse. But when we went to fill them, we didn't know which was for salt and which is for pepper. One has three openings, and the other has five.

In the words of Salt-n-Pepa: "Let's talk about it..."

s&Ptop092908.jpg We did a little research and it seems there's two camps: "flow" versus "flavor."

The "flavor" side argues that since we tend to use salt more often, we should put salt in the shaker with more holes. The "flow"' side argues that since pepper is coarser than salt, it should go in the shaker with more holes so that it flows smoothly. s&Psilo092908.jpg

My boyfriend's on the "flavor" side (tellingly, he also has high cholesterol). I'm undecided.

What do you do?

photos: jen derose

Comments (10)

Then, of course, is the issue of pre-ground pepper being inferior to freshly ground - at least, I've found pepper from a shaker to lack the pungency and punch of grinder pepper. I also use kosher salt, which does not work in shakers as well, so we've got an untraditional set on our table: a pepper grinder and a salt pig.

too much salt tastes worse than too much pepper; i'd err on the side of caution and put salt in the three-hole shaker.

This debate has been ongoing in my family for years. Perhaps I was swayed by my mother's salt and pepper set which had a man and woman. The woman has a white hat and one hole, while the guy had a dark grey hat and two holes. Naturally, I felt the white hat should imply salt while the darker hat meant pepper. My mother, however, has these reversed. To this day, I get mixed up with which is salt and which is pepper.

I in turn make it easy for myself by using a white shaker with holes in the shape of an "S" for the table salt and an Eastern spice grinder for my pepper.

i have a set of shakers that are shaped like ghosts. one is white (salt), the other is grey (pepper). the pepper one has more holes. my guess is that the designer did the research and decided on the number of holes based on popular opinion. i err on the side of my ghosts. more holes for pepper.

Traditionally the salt goes in the shaker with less holes. (I collected them as a child...)

I read an article somewhere that it is best not to use salt in a shaker because you tend to use too much. We switched to a coarser grain of salt and put it in a little bowl just to see. I recommend it, we use much less salt now and find that instead of it making our food taste "salty" all over we get little hits of salt in our meal that enhance the flavor of the food.

That salt and pepper set was designer by Paul Mccobb. They are pretty rare. Nice find!

Was never a debate in my home. Salt goes in the shaker with the most holes. Period. We never use pre-ground pepper anyway, so the pepper shaker is moot in my opinion anyway ;D

Wow, my aunt had this china pattern, including the salt and pepper shakers. Agree with the above post. Traditionally the salt goes in the shaker with the most holes. Today, do what works for you.

I agree with Youracigarette - Salt in the one with less holes
Pepper you can see as you sprinkle...so if one "shake" is enough then your good whereas with salt I'd rather taste test and add more (more shakes) than over salf with one shake. :)
After a while you'll learn how much salt comes out at once.