This may sound trivial, but we have two shakers and the first has two
openings in the top and the other one has three openings.  Given that both
shakers are the same size and color, I think the salt should be in the
shaker with the two holes and my wife thinks the pepper should be in the
shaker with the two holes.  

What is the correct choice?  If you can, please give a reason for your
answer.

Thanks for your input.

Heh, this is trivial, but I think that it's clear that salt should go
in the shaker with two holes, simply because it's finer than pepper and
comes out more readily.  (This has nothing to do with the fact that I
use *way* more pepper than salt, I assure you. :)

--
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  "Villians always have antidotes. . . they're funny that way"
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Jody Reed--                                --jo...@cc.gatech.edu

The reason for the difference in the shakers is that the texture of salt and pepper
are different.  Since salt will flow through the holes more rapidly than pepper
will, salt shakers generally have fewer holes than pepper shakers.

In article <49ddq8$...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>,

i think that the salt should be in the one w/two holes.  i have seen salt
and pepper sets where there is some funky anti-humidity clot near the
exit hole (uh, for lack of better terms), and it had one hole, whereas
the pepper had numerous holes.  

also, in light of how good sodium is for your body, best keep the
salt shaking to a minimum, and use the one w/fewer openings for salt.

-j.

--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----
I spent four years prostrate to the higher mind, got my paper
And I was free
        - indigo girls

Standards for this very important issue by Professor Mise en Place in the
17th century: salt three, pepper two. But those crafty American salt and
pepper manufacturers started the "S" and "P" trend, which sent the hole
counters into a tizzy.

The wife is right...as always.
--
___________________________________________________________________________ _
Anne Bourget                                              bour...@netcom.com
Sacramento, California

        "Will the *real* Iain Lea please stand up."

: This may sound trivial, but we have two shakers and the first has two

Not only is it trivial, but it points up a bad design.
Anything that needs to be explained or figured out will be
irritating over time and awkward for guests.  I used exactly
such shakers at my sister's house at Thanksgiving, and my
logic was different' I thought that pepper would be in the
one with fewer holes, since it's more powerfully flavored and
people will want to avoid overdosing their food.  Wrong!

It's good manners to make guests feel at ease.  I reject this
sort of puzzle-piece.  Similarly, I wouldn't serve food that's
extraordinarily awkward to eat, or provide fragile crystal,
or do anything else to make a guest feel embarrassed.
My own shakers are transparent clear glass, with tops that
screw on firmly, and holes that don't clog easily.

--
Ray Bruman                                             rbru...@netcom.com

At my house it doesn't matter, because everyone takes the lid off the pepper
in order to get enough....:-)

Nancy Dooley

"A cheerful look makes a dish a feast"...Herbert, Jacula Prudentum

And to help keep the salt from clogging up, you can mix it with uncooked rice kernels
in the shaker.  The salt comes out, the rice stays put and absorbs any moisture in
the container.

In article <49ddq8$...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>

It used to be that the shaker that allowed more out  (either more holes
or larger holes) was for the salt.  The one that allowed less out was
for the pepper, the idea being that you didn't want your food too
spicey, but most people wanted a lot of salt.

Now that we have exactly the opposite values, I dunno what to do about
the shakers.  We always use a grinder : )

Christine

The pepper goes in the one with two holes, and the salt with three.  The three possible reasons I can offer are  i) you usually use =
less pepper because it is a stronger spice and  ii) historically it was very expensive and this kept you from using too much (I thin=
k this comes from the British).  THe most important rationale that I can offer, however, is that my mother says to put the salt in t=
he one with three, and the pepper in the one with two ;-)

I always put the salt in the shaker with the more holes, simply because
one nearly always uses more salt, proportionately, than pepper. In the
case of shakers that have the same number of holes, but one set of
holes is smaller, I use the same premise. Just my .02

Later,
Squeaks

I vote for pepper = fewer holes, salt = more holes.  Why?  Because it was
always that way!  But seriously, I think it stems from when salt was
nothing to be concerned about dietarily, it was common and used
constantly.  Pepper, however, was "spicy" and used very sparingly.  It
seemed to be more exotic.  Please .. no laughing.  It's just how I seem to
recall it.  Maybe it's my mother's fault!

But, since I've been using a pepper mill for years now, who cares?! 8)

Geri

It depends on what side of the Atlantic you live on.

In the US....more holes is salt.
In England....more holes is pepper (salt is usually just one).

Don't know why.

Think of the assembly line that makes the shakers.

If they make 2 different kinds, they need more equipment. In the
interest of lower production costs the consumer loses what has always
been a God given right, pepper shakers with less holes.

You're lucky they put the S & P on them! Wait until they get even
more 'efficient' and make you label them yourself!  ;-)

Simple! Salt is in shaker, Pepper is in grinder.

: Standards for this very important issue by Professor Mise en Place in the
: 17th century: salt three, pepper two. But those crafty American salt and
: pepper manufacturers started the "S" and "P" trend, which sent the hole
: counters into a tizzy.

**** It is not the number of holes that is important.. One is really
enough, but it is the SIZE... Salt comes in larger grains than Pepper

But then again, just like so many we things discuss here.. The size is not
nearly as important as what you do with it...

Cooking is one of several Creative Sports..

Bill Hilbrich
Student of Humanity and Pond Scum, and  a
Nasty, but gentle Protector of White Swans.

In a recent message STNN...@prodigy.com (Robert Halem) tells us:
*It depends on what side of the Atlantic you live on.
*
*In the US....more holes is salt.
*In England....more holes is pepper (salt is usually just one).
*
*Don't know why.

Maybe because salt is notorious for enhancing flavour?  <grin>

--
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:    *In the US....more holes is salt.
:    *In England....more holes is pepper (salt is usually just one).
: This isn't exactly considered rocket science over here...

No, it's another example of the irresistable human urge to create
conflicting standards.  Whenever a choice is completely arbitrary
but has far-reaching consequences, people screw it up.  Examples:

Which side of the road should we drive on?
Should wall switches go up or down to turn on the lights?
Put a slash through the letter O or the number zero?
Use a comma or a period for a decimal point?
Represent the second day of March as 3/2/96 or 2/3/96?
...
<<list has no end>>

--
Ray Bruman                                             rbru...@netcom.com

:    *It depends on what side of the Atlantic you live on.
:    *
:    *In the US....more holes is salt.
:    *In England....more holes is pepper (salt is usually just one).
:    *
:    *Don't know why.
:
: That's easy - it's because we're smarter :-)
:
:  a) Grains of salt are relatively large and hydroscopic (which makes
: them stick together).
:  b) Particles of ground pepper are relatively small.
:
: So salt shakers typically have one large hole to let the salt out,
: pepper shakers many small holes to spread the pepper evenly. Otherwise
: you get no salt and a solid trail of pepper - yuk!
:
        Arghhhhhhhhhhhhh...
        I've been waiting for someone to point out that the real
  difference is that the pepper shaker's holes should be *larger*
  Usually, this is compensated by having fewer holes so that you won't
  get the food as hot as my son would want it in one shake.  The
  reason for the larger holes is that the tasteless powder sold for
  table use really has no use: good shaker pepper has a grind coarser
  than that of shaker salt.  As for a) above, table salt in the US
  has enough trace additives to keep it running properly in ordinary
  humidities. [We use canning salt in our shakers and it does clump].
                      --thelma
: This isn't exactly considered rocket science over here...
:
: John (who of course doesn't have a pepper shaker but knows people who
: do)

In Norway....more holes is salt.

It can't have anything to do with the Atlantic : )

Helle

The right side.  The car was invented in the U.S.  We drive on the right side.
 Ergo, the right side is the correct side.

That drives me nuts.  Don't you just hate it when one room has two switches
and they get out of synch?  Me, too.

I was taught to slash the letter O, but one company I worked for insisted on
slashing the 0 (zero).  That drove me nuts, too.  I finally stopped writing it
and just typed everything.

You got me there.  I'm used to a period, but I've never had a significant
problem relating to foreign nomenclature.

Brother, that's another one.

On the other hand, I write the date as 30 November 1995.

True, but I'm glad this one did.

Yes, I know you were making a point, but I couldn't resist playing the game.

Apologies to anyone who is annoyed by this post.

In truth, the right way is the way we're taught or whatever is the best way to
do things for whatever purpose.

Does anyone remember the toilet paper controversy?  Someone wrote to Dear Abby
(or was it Ann Landers) and asked the correct way to load toilet paper: the
end hanging over the top or coming up from underneath.

I think that's still raging...but the people who made the most sense were
those who pointed out how cats love to unroll the whole thing when the end
sheet is coming from the top.

Been there.  Done that.

Mimi Hiller (hil...@smartlink.net)
http://www.smartlink.net/~hiller/food/
Hundreds of food-related links and my personal collection of recipes

   *It depends on what side of the Atlantic you live on.
   *
   *In the US....more holes is salt.
   *In England....more holes is pepper (salt is usually just one).
   *
   *Don't know why.

That's easy - it's because we're smarter :-)

 a) Grains of salt are relatively large and hydroscopic (which makes
them stick together).
 b) Particles of ground pepper are relatively small.

So salt shakers typically have one large hole to let the salt out,
pepper shakers many small holes to spread the pepper evenly. Otherwise
you get no salt and a solid trail of pepper - yuk!

This isn't exactly considered rocket science over here...

John (who of course doesn't have a pepper shaker but knows people who
do)

FORGET IT!

Use whole pepper and coarse sea salt, put it in  a salt grinder and a
pepper grinder. It's much better anyway!
Marit

I haven't been to the Target chain of stores in a while, but I went
there a week ago and found the neatest thing.  I keep my "good"
pepper mill and salt mill on my dining table and it's a pain to go get
it to cook with.  Target had mini-mills of different spices and herbs
(pepper included) that were about 3" tall and about 1 1/2 " in
diameter.  The bottom of the jar is a plastic grinder with metal
parts.  It's relatively inexpensive and refillable.  Just the handy
little gadget to satify a shopping urge!  ;-)

Lara Alewine

The *proper* thing is to serve pepper in a pepper grinder- pepper that's
not fresh ground has a nasty, bitter flavor and is missing most of the
interesting flavor- and salt in a salt *dish*, where you can see it.

Salt and pepper shakers are for collecting and arranging on shelves.

--mike ;-)