When did salt and pepper become a pair?

by Max Shrem, Posted Aug 16th 2008 @ 12:01PM

salt and pepper shakers Photo: atmtx, Flickr

What would a dinner table be without its salt and pepper? They've become so ubiquitous in everyone's kitchen. However, we rarely wonder why. Both were heavily used in cuisine for hundreds of years, but so were several other spices. What made people focus on salt and pepper?

The story begins with salt. In Ancient Rome, it gained popularity as a condiment. Italians during the Renaissance served salted dishes at the same time as sugared dishes. It was not until the 17th century that the French created a salt-sweet divide. Salted foods were eaten throughout the meal because they stimulate the appetite. Sweet plates were served at the end; they satiate the appetite and shutdown our desire to eat.

It was in France that salt met its inevitable spicy partner, pepper. 17th-century Classic French cuisine, which developed at the court of Louis XIV, considered pepper and parsley as superior to the various spices imported from the Middle East. In fact, it viewed all spices as vulgar ingredients masking the true flavor of a dish. Pepper was the only spice acceptable. And, it eventually attained the same status as fine herbs which were thought to be more wholesome and exquisite. The French heightened the importance of pepper giving it the status it has today.

Filed Under: Ingredients
Tags: condiments, france, french cuisine, FrenchCuisine, haute cuisine, HauteCuisine, pepper, salt, salt and pepper, SaltAndPepper, spices

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

8-17-2008 @5:52AM Ben said... This is interesting, but it would be great if you could provide some references or links.

Also, you mention "fine herbs" and "vulgar spices" without describing their differences. Herbs tend to be leafy and spices tend to be seedy. Herbs were probably easier to grow and find than spices, which tended to be imported from exotic locales. Why were spices vulgar?
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8-18-2008 @12:43AM Yongho Shin said... Interesting! I always saw salt and pepper together, but did not think about why.

I wonder what would happen if France did not come into the picture? Maybe salt would pair with... ketchup?

Nah.
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