Salt in the hearth - in Niche or Salt-box

A stoneware container in a niche/hole in the hearth wall, or salt cellars kept salt "from running." Two period images, with one showing something in the niche, the other with a wooden salt cellar. CHNY's talk this Thursday is on... salt. History of salt-making in England taped talk.

Some new talks have been added - Inside Monticello's 1809 Kitchen with Dr. Leni Sorensen. Prince Edward Island (Canada) Farm Diary, 1836-1882. Archaeology of Erfurt, Germany's Jewish-Medieval bakery. HERE

"There is just one other utensil indispensable to the cottager; which is, a very small barrel, or can, of stone ware, to hold his salt, which he keeps in a hole in the wall close by his fire, to prevent its running, from the moisture in the air."
General View of the Agriculture of the County of Peebles… Charles Findlater. Edinburgh: 1802

Expectation Interior of a Cottage with a Mother and Children. Frederick Hardy (1826-1911). 1854. UK Royal Holloway Cottage.
Salt box on upper left side of hearth.

"Common salt is generally a little deliquescent, that is, attracts water and becomes damp, which is owing to its not being entirely freed from the muriates of lime and magnesia. Salt should be preserved for immediate use in a salt-box with a close lid, and be kept in a warm, dry place." An Encyclopædia of Domestic Economy. Thomas Webster. London: 1815.

SPECIMEN OF A COLLEGIATE EXAMINATION. METAPLIYSICS.
PROFESSOR. What is a SALT-BOX?
STUDENT. It is a box made to contain salt.
PROF. How is it divided?
STU. Into a salt-box and a box of salt.
PROF. Very well! show the distinction.
STU. A salt-box may be where there is no salt; but salt is absolutely necessary to the existence of a box of salt.
PROF. Are not salt-boxes otherwise divided?
STU. Yes; by a partition.
PROF. What is the use of this partition?
STU. To separate the coarse salt from the fine.
…
STU. They are further divided into substantive and pendant: a substantive salt-box is that which stands by itself on the table or dresser; and a pendant is that which hangs upon a nail against the wall.
…
Humor/satire by Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791)
Cleveland, Charles. A Compendium of American literature. Phila: 1862. Excerpted from HERE


UPCOMING SALT TALK

Feb 16 Thur 6:30 Talking Salt: Its Geographies and Histories. Naomi Duguid. Culinary Historians of New York. $10 HERE

TAPED SALT TALK, WEBSITE

Salt on the Solway. Andrew Fielding and John Pickin. 17th cen - Speakers from both sides of the Solway Firth UK. Solway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Oct 29 2020. TAPE HERE

Salt on the Screen: An online experience exploring the history of salt-making in Lincolnshire. HERE


Past and future blog posts on salt HERE

THIS WEEK'S TALKS deleted

CALENDAR OF VIRTUAL FOOD HISTORY TALKS HERE

©2023 Patricia Bixler Reber
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