Salt and pepper
{{Short description|Table condiments for seasoning food}}
{{other uses|Salt and pepper (disambiguation)}}
Salt and pepper are the common names for edible salt and ground black pepper, which are ubiquitously paired on Western dining tables as to allow for the additional seasoning of food after its preparation. During food preparation or cooking, they may also be added in combination.
Salt and pepper are typically maintained in separate shakers on the table, but they may be mixed in the kitchen. They are typically found in a set (pair), often a matched set, of salt and pepper shakers.{{cite news |last1=Jacewicz |first1=Natalie |title=How Did Salt And Pepper Become The Soulmates Of Western Cuisine? |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/02/02/582477785/how-did-salt-and-pepper-become-the-soulmates-of-western-cuisine |access-date=24 November 2019 |publisher=NPR |date=2 February 2018}} They may be considered condiments or seasonings; salt is a mineral and black pepper is a spice.
History
Salt is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous food seasonings, and is known to uniformly improve the taste perception of food, including otherwise unpalatable food.{{cite book|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK50958/|title=Strategies to Reduce Sodium Intake in the United States|section=3 — Taste and Flavor Roles of Sodium in Foods: A Unique Challenge to Reducing Sodium Intake|author=Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Strategies to Reduce Sodium Intake|editor1=Jane E. Henney|editor2=Christine L. Taylor|editor3=Caitlin S. Boon|isbn=978-0-309-14806-1|publication-date=2010|publisher=National Academies Press (US)|location=Washington, DC|accessdate=29 October 2022}} Its pairing with pepper as table accessories dates to seventeenth-century French cuisine, which considered black pepper (distinct from herbs such as fines herbes) the only spice that did not overpower the true taste of food.{{cite web |url=http://www.slashfood.com/2008/08/16/when-did-salt-and-pepper-become-a-pair |title=When did salt and pepper become a pair? |first=Max |last=Shrem |website=slashfood.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819145314/http://www.slashfood.com/2008/08/16/when-did-salt-and-pepper-become-a-pair |date=August 19, 2008 |archive-date=August 19, 2008}} Some food writers like Sara Dickerman have argued that, in modern cookery, a new spice could be used in place of the historic ground black pepper.{{cite web |last1=Dickerman |first1=Sara |title=Against Pepper |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2012/01/salt-and-pepper-why-are-they-always-together.html |website=slate.com |publisher=Slate |access-date=24 November 2019|date=4 January 2012 }}{{cite news |last1=Wilson |first1=Bee |title=Salt and Pepper Are No Longer Enough |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/salt-and-pepper-are-no-longer-enough-11570116149 |access-date=24 November 2019 |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |date=3 October 2019}}
Other cultures
In Hungary, paprika may replace pepper on the dinner table, while in Basque cuisine, Espelette pepper frequently replaces black pepper.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}