What Is a Salt Pig?
Though they appear unassuming and innocuous, salt pigs are a popular topic in kitchen utensil fashion on high-class cooking television series. With its historical roots in Scotland, for centuries the salt pig has assisted cooks in preserving and properly measuring their salt.
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Types
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Salt pigs are available in many materials, but are generally ceramic, porcelain, earthenware or clay.
Identification
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A salt pig is used to hold salt, to make it easily accessible to pinch or spoon measure into dishes.
Benefits
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The earthenware construction of a salt pig can help keep the salt from clumping in humid kitchens.
History
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According to the blog Mundane Essays, a blog in which writer Muness Alrubaiehis researched the origin of the term "salt pig," the use of "pig" is found in Scots and northern English dialect meaning an earthenware vessel.
Significance
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On modern food and cooking-related television programming, the salt pig is popular in home-style television kitchens because it is considered to be more stylish than ramekins and salt shakers.
Fun Fact
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The salt pig shares its linguistic roots with the piggy bank, as, says Alrubaiehis, "pig, or penny pig can mean an earthenware money-box," as in the popular "piggy bank."
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Comments
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Saw a salt pig in a Scotland shop recently and took pic's of it so I could try and make some in my current pottery class. They are neat!
