Salt Shakers

No, this isn’t a repeat! While last week we looked at salt spoons and cellars, this week we’re turning to their successors: the salt shakers.
For centuries, salt was a prized commodity. It was often sold in coarse, damp crystals — or even pressed into blocks and lumps for trade — and had to be broken down before use. On the dining table, this clumpy salt was kept in open salt cellars with little spoons, since it refused to pour neatly.
Everything changed in the early 1900s when Morton Salt introduced their “free-flowing” salt (1911) by adding a moisture-absorbing agent. Suddenly, salt could be sprinkled smoothly from a shaker — and a new household essential was born!
A few fun facts:
• The first shakers appeared in the late 1800s, but Morton’s innovation made them truly practical and popular by the 1920s.
• Collectors adore shakers today — from elegant Depression glass to whimsical souvenir sets shaped like animals, vegetables, or cartoon characters.
• There’s even debate about the holes: in the U.S., salt usually has more; in parts of Europe, pepper does!
From a once-finicky luxury that needed careful spooning, salt became an everyday staple with its own stylish little container. As Morton said, “When it rains, it pours” — and so did the popularity of the salt shaker!