A salt cellar (also called salt or standing salt) is a vessel, usually small and made of glass or silver, used on the table for holding salt Salt is a mineral that is composed primarily of sodium chloride. It is essential for animal life in small quantities, but is harmful to animals and plants in excess. Salt flavor is one of the basic tastes, making salt one of the oldest, most ubiquitous food seasonings. Salting is an important method of food preservation. An individual salt dish or squat open salt cellar placed near a trencher was called a trencher salt. The use of salt cellars continued through the 1940s but has been in decline since, gradually replaced by salt shakers.
The exterior surfaces of modern cellars are frequently decorated with birds, lemons or other designs, and may have the word "salt" or "S" on them in various languages. A salt cellar often has a lid to protect the contents and keep it dry. The lid may be made of the same material as the cellar, or a different one (for example, a porcelain cellar with a wooden lid). Some salt cellars, also known as salt dips, open salts, and salt dishes, are not true cellars at all, but open dishes, without lids. These were used by wealthy families from the Middle Ages until World War II. The bowl, along with a miniature salt spoon, was passed to guests by the head of the household for individual service.[1] It is still possible to find salt cellars today, but they are not used as table decorations. They have lids and are used near the stove so the cook has easy access to salt while preparing meals. These are less likely to be elaborately decorated, and may have a range of designs for ease of use. For example, a salt cellar with a high back containing a hole allows the cellar to be mounted to a wall. Another style is a container shaped like a curved tube. The curvature In mathematics, curvature refers to any of a number of loosely related concepts in different areas of geometry. Intuitively, curvature is the amount by which a geometric object deviates from being flat, or straight in the case of a line, but this is defined in different ways depending on the context. There is a key distinction between extrinsic protects the salt a little, but the cellar is open allowing the cook to reach in and take salt. Salt cellars used to be made of glass, but in recent times can be found in many different media, including porcelain Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between 1,200 °C and 1,400 °C (2,552 °F). The toughness, strength, and translucence of porcelain arise mainly from the formation of glass and the mineral mullite within the fired body at these high, pewter Pewter is a malleable metal alloy, traditionally between 85 and 99 percent tin, with the remainder consisting of copper, antimony, bismuth and lead. Copper and antimony act as hardeners while lead is common in the lower grades of pewter, which have a bluish tint. It has a low melting point, around 170–230 °C , depending on the exact mixture of, silver Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal. The metal occurs naturally in its pure, free form (native silver), as an alloy with gold and other metals, and and wood Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many plants. It has been used for centuries for both fuel and as a construction material for several types of living areas such as houses. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression. In the strict sense wood is produced as.[2] Sometime after 1950, salt cellars became a coveted collectible A collectable or collectible is typically a manufactured item designed for people to collect. In this respect, they are distinguishable from other subjects of collections, which may also include natural objects and objects manufactured for purposes other than collecting (e.g., stamps). Some objects designed for other purposes, such as toys, become.
In ancient times salt was a precious commodity. Roman legionaries were sometimes paid in salt, the origin of the word salary A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. In Tibet Tibet is a plateau region in Asia and a disputed territory, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average elevation of 4,900 metres (16,000 ft). It, according to Marco Polo Marco Polo (English pronunciation: /ˈmɑrkoʊ ˈpoʊloʊ/ ; Italian pronunciation: [ˈmarko ˈpɔːlo]) (c. 1254 – January 8, 1324) was a merchant from the Venetian Republic who wrote Il Milione, which introduced Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through, cakes of salt displayed a likeness of the ruler and were used as money.[3][unreliable source?] In ancient Greece Ancient Greece is the civilization belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. At the center of this time period is Classical Greece, which flourished during the 5th to 4th centuries BC, at first under Athenian, slaves were traded for salt and over 2000 years before the birth of Christ, the Chinese emperor levied a salt tax. Not only was this the first salt tax, it was first tax of any kind.
An English glass salt cellar, circa 1720During the Middle Ages The Middle Ages is a period of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The period followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and preceded the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period in a three-period division of history: Classical, Medieval, and Modern. The term "Middle Ages" (medium aevum) was coined in, when salt was a valuable commodity, salt would be kept on the table in elaborate metal or glass dishes as a status symbol A status symbol is a perceived visible, external denotation of one's social position and perceived indicator of economic or social status. Many luxury goods are often considered status symbols. Status symbol is also a sociological term – as part of social and sociological symbolic interactionism – relating to how individuals and groups. Being granted the favor of sharing the salt cellar of the host was seen as a sign of great respect. The social status In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc of a guest was often measured simply by judging the distance at which the person sat from the master's large salt cellar placed near the middle of a long table: the phrases above the salt and below the salt alluded to the former custom of seating persons of higher rank above and those of lower rank below that container. In the more recent past, salt was still very costly and precious. For example, before refrigeration salt was the main ingredient for preserving food.
In the early 20th century, moisture absorbing agents (such as magnesium carbonate Magnesium carbonate, MgCO3, is a white solid that occurs in nature as a mineral. Several hydrated and basic forms of magnesium carbonate also exist as minerals. In addition, MgCO3 has a variety of uses) were added to salt and it was no longer sold in blocks, but was finely ground. Salt cellars were replaced with salt shakers somewhere around 1950 [4]
See also
References
- ^ History of the Salt Shaker and Salt Cellar | Food Squeeze.
- ^ The Pleasures of Open Salts. Rovin' and Ravin' with MikeSegers.
- ^ Salt: A Precious Commodity. Food Reference Website: "Everything about food: from Articles & History to Recipes and Trivia Quizzes".
- ^ These holders are worth their weight in salt | Home Turf. Arizona local news - Mesa, Scottsdale, Gilbert, Tempe, Chandler; eastvalleytribune.com, March 29, 2007.
External links
- Medieval and Renaissance Saltcellars
- History of the Salt Shaker and Salt Cellar
- These holders are worth their weight in salt
Categories: Serving and dining
Seattle Times (blog)
In so deep a hole that even 2-1 victory over Kansas City doesn't get them out of the cellar . Can you believe San Jose is ranked third? ...
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