Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Information about salt pigs from America's Test Kitchen / Cooksillustrated.com:
"A search of the Web turned up ceramic vessels identical in shape and differing only in color. This one, about 4 inches wide and 5 inches tall, holds about half a pound of salt. The sites we checked indicated that the knob on top is for carrying and that the large, round opening provides easy access to the salt. It's also thought that the hooded shape keeps moisture from collecting on the salt. One of our editors left this salt pig out on her kitchen counter for a couple of months last summer (which included a couple of very humid weeks) and the salt did indeed remain dry, with no clumping whatsoever. Its hood distinguishes the salt pig from the salt cellar, which is generally a small, open bowl.
We couldn't help but wonder how the salt "pig" got its name and so contacted a couple of lexicographers, one of whom -- George H. Goebel, an editor of the Dictionary of American Regional English at the University of Wisconsin, Madison -- made his way to the Scottish National Dictionary. This reference indicated that this use of "pig" is an old one found mostly in Scots and northern English dialect, where it means an earthenware vessel, specifically "a pot, jar, pitcher, [or] crock," which of course fits the notion of a salt pig very nicely. (A couple of the Web sites ventured that the hooded opening looks like a pig's snout.) Goebel added that according to the same dictionary, "pig" or "penny pig" can mean "an earthenware money-box, now sometimes made in the form of the animal 'pig,'" while the "piggy" in "piggy bank" originally meant "made of earthenware." The pig shape was apparently a visual pun."
The review is referring to a salt pig they found at the King Arthur Flour website, but this one and others listed on Amazon.com are half price or less compared to King Arthur's. This one is just too cute cuz it's got ears and a tail. I am ordering one, because I like to keep salt handy in my food prep area, where I can just scoop it with a measuring spoon. I had been using a small gladware bowl with lid, but this is just much cuter. So, it's not an essential, but hey, sometimes this garde manger thinks it's fun to have cute, unique, cool tools in the kitchen. Makes the work even more fun.
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Pink stoneware Salt Pig and Spoon Salt Keeper
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