Stupid Question--Settle a debate between me & DH!

ok so theres a story to this but its long and stupid so i'll just ask the question.

Salt & Pepper shakers. Which one gets the salt and which gets the pepper?

DH says 3 holes gets pepper and 2 holes gets salt

I say 3 holes gets salt and 2 holes pepper!

you know i have no idea bc our pepper has a handle you turn and grind it, but when i pull out our summer bbq stuff i am going to look now

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Posted by teenigrrl

more holes for salt - you generally use more salt than pepper.

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I agree with this. Sometimes the holes are 2 different sizes too. I think the smaller holes are for the pepper b/c you don't want as much to come out.

wow, i've never heard of this at all! Maybe its because I never use salt or pepper! Ya learn something new everyday.

i thought it was 3 holes for pepper, 2 for salt- cause its harder to get the pepper out and the salt pours out easier

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Posted by futuremrsfab

i thought it was 3 holes for pepper, 2 for salt- cause its harder to get the pepper out and the salt pours out easier

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thats what DH says..he says pepper needs more holes because its harder to shake out

I say that usually people use more salt so salt gets the 3 holes.

its a very heated debate in our home

just googled because i didn't know either and this is what ask yahoo had to say:

Dear Yahoo!:
Which goes in the shaker with more holes -- salt or pepper?

Shaken With Doubt
Hamden, Connecticut

Dear Shaken:

Until quite recently, when we started receiving this question from a number of readers, we were blissfully unaware this was the source of much controversy and debate. We had always been taught that salt went in the shaker with more holes and never thought to question this piece of wisdom.

However, our confidence was strongly shaken when we started researching the matter and learned that this question of dining etiquette is far from set in stone. We found many sources that completely disagreed with each other with complete authority. For example, About.com states that traditionally, pepper was more expensive than its easier-to-come-by companion salt, and so pepper was placed in the shaker with fewer holes to reduce usage. On the other hand, the International Guild of Professional Butlers asserts that salt shakers generally have larger and fewer holes to accommodate the larger, heavier grains that flow faster than pepper, although they do admit there is no manufacturing standard.

One web site indicated there seem to be two distinct camps in this matter -- the 'Flow' camp and the 'Flavor' camp. The Flow camp preaches that pepper grains are larger than salt grains and hence need more holes to equalize the flow between the two condiments. Interestingly enough, we found this same argument reversed on several sites, which claimed that salt is coarser than pepper and thus goes in the shaker with more holes. Guess it depends on the types of salt and pepper you are using.

The Flavor camp dictates that since people tend to use more salt than pepper, the salt should go in the shaker with more holes. Of course, if you are one of many people on a salt-restricted diet, this solution may not make sense for you.

Sadly, Miss Manners and Emily Post did not seem to have any say on the matter, and even our favorite food reference site, epicurious.com, was of no help.

Our conclusion? Unless you have the kind of cutesy shakers where the holes spell out an 'S' or a 'P,' feel free to go with the flow and do whatever suits you. Now that that's settled, pass the salt, please!

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Posted by 08JulyBride

just googled because i didn't know either and this is what ask yahoo had to say:

Dear Yahoo!:
Which goes in the shaker with more holes -- salt or pepper?

Shaken With Doubt
Hamden, Connecticut

Dear Shaken:

Until quite recently, when we started receiving this question from a number of readers, we were blissfully unaware this was the source of much controversy and debate. We had always been taught that salt went in the shaker with more holes and never thought to question this piece of wisdom.

However, our confidence was strongly shaken when we started researching the matter and learned that this question of dining etiquette is far from set in stone. We found many sources that completely disagreed with each other with complete authority. For example, About.com states that traditionally, pepper was more expensive than its easier-to-come-by companion salt, and so pepper was placed in the shaker with fewer holes to reduce usage. On the other hand, the International Guild of Professional Butlers asserts that salt shakers generally have larger and fewer holes to accommodate the larger, heavier grains that flow faster than pepper, although they do admit there is no manufacturing standard.

One web site indicated there seem to be two distinct camps in this matter -- the 'Flow' camp and the 'Flavor' camp. The Flow camp preaches that pepper grains are larger than salt grains and hence need more holes to equalize the flow between the two condiments. Interestingly enough, we found this same argument reversed on several sites, which claimed that salt is coarser than pepper and thus goes in the shaker with more holes. Guess it depends on the types of salt and pepper you are using.

The Flavor camp dictates that since people tend to use more salt than pepper, the salt should go in the shaker with more holes. Of course, if you are one of many people on a salt-restricted diet, this solution may not make sense for you.

Sadly, Miss Manners and Emily Post did not seem to have any say on the matter, and even our favorite food reference site, epicurious.com, was of no help.

Our conclusion? Unless you have the kind of cutesy shakers where the holes spell out an 'S' or a 'P,' feel free to go with the flow and do whatever suits you. Now that that's settled, pass the salt, please!

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even the experts are unsure!

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Posted by KK Holiday

even the experts are unsure!

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yeah.. I read other sites with the same topic and they all pretty much say the same that unless it's marked S & P that it's difference of opinion.. so I guess you are both right

in my life it's always been that Salt gets more holes, only because I use more salt in things than I do Pepper. When I put pepper in stuff, it's only meant to be a tiny tiny bit, so I want less holes. But I don't know if this is a 'rule' or just my thing. lol.

For mine - it's 5 holes on the Salt Shaker, and 4 on the Pepper.

Noooooooooo clue but I side with you

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Posted by futuremrsfab

i thought it was 3 holes for pepper, 2 for salt- cause its harder to get the pepper out and the salt pours out easier

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I agree

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Posted by MrsJ08

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Posted by futuremrsfab

i thought it was 3 holes for pepper, 2 for salt- cause its harder to get the pepper out and the salt pours out easier

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I agree

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Me too! Plus salt is less healthy than pepper so you want it to have fewer holes.