Salt Spoons

[NateDJ]

A new user named.. Coffeepot left me this message...

If anyone has any information on 'spice or salt spoons' including pictures or written info in books or via the internet i need to confirm that these spoons were a part of history. im looking for a more 'primitive looking' spoon, forged possibly. not a sterling silver, fancy type. email is fine or a post here.
thank you,
kathy



So if any of you can help her out please do. Personally I have only heard them called salt spoons and have no idea where that name originated from.

[ThomasPowers]

Do you mean like the ones made from horseshoe nails? While I have seen a bunch of folks claim they go back I have not seen any evidence of them historically. (and historical Medieval and Renaissance cooking equipment is rather a hobby of mine)

Horn spoons are a much more likely choice for such things than iron as horn is non-reactive and was commonly used in earlier times. More primative ones would be carved wood. More upscale would be pewter then on into silver, gold, precious stones, etc.

Spices were usually used in substantial ammounts not little bits added with a little spoon.

Now there were salt cellers with quite ornate spoons used on the tables of the higher up.
Lower examples would generally be accessed with the point of your eating knife and don't forget the cooks "pinch of salt" showing how they would use it.

For a more through take on this may I suggest you post it to armourarchive.org historical research forum.

[NateDJ]

Yep the ones made from a horse shoo nail or blade type concrete nail if you are buying them at Home Depot or the like.
I told her that I thought it would be more likely that most people would have used their fingers which would likely be where we get the ''Pinch of salt'' quote, looks like i may have been close at least.

On the same note, what do you call these little spoons?

[ThomasPowers]

Coke spoons---you wouldn't want to use a steel spoon to be in contact with salt.

Tell her to get a horn spoon---several places sell them to re-enactors and the SCA folk---if she wants a more "primative" spoon. (or carve one from a close grained wood like maple or cherry)

[NateDJ]

LOL can't call them coke spoons around here people will take me literally! I'm not sure exactly what she was looking for but I think she was looking to find out if it could be proven that they were used or not. I personally just tell people they are spoons made from horse shoo nails and let it go at that.

[ThomasPowers]

Far better to tell the bald truth than make up a pretty lie!

I've been in the SCA 30 years this fall and have a laurel in blacksmithing and if I saw someone trying to pass them as period I would require very good primary documentation indeed!

[civilwarblacksmith]

I make them into small ladels. I tell them it's a small decorative piece but they can use it for whatever they want. I started making them when I got tired of laying around the house after rotator cup surgery. Needed to bang some metal, was going through withdrawl.

[Woody]

I have a salt and pepper spoon set carved out of wood that were made by my uncle. He told me that before the advent of salt and pepper shakers, salt and pepper were served in little bowls with small wooden spoons. The one for pepper was smaller than the one for salt but I don't think they dated back to mideveal times. If you do a google search for "salt and pepper spoons" it will bring up lots of hits