What's so special about salt and pepper?

good point, hossman

Salt is the most basic spice: it enhances existing flavors, rather than creating a different one. One can't really cook to great effect without it. It allows you to adjust the 'volume' of your flavor.

Great lemonade from real lemons benefits from adding sugar, but it also works very well when you add some salt! Also, fruits with salt are even fruitier.

I think salt is a no-brainer. Nothing like it, biologically necessary, and most things taste better with it. It’s not an herb or a spice…it’s just salt and there’s a reason people have been carrying it all over hell and gone since time immemorial. Pepper on the other hand, that’s a fantastic question and I have no idea. I mean it’s good, but not uniquely so. I reckon it’s more habit and culture than anything else.

Both salt and pepper (black pepper specifically) were used as currency. Below are a few links giving a historical context.

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=salary
http://www.saltinstitute.org/38.html
http://www.plantcultures.org/plants/black_pepper_history.html

salt is usefull some say it is neccesary
pepper is better for taste
some say its unneccesary waste
salt is good in the summer and the winter and the fall
pepper is good with all the seasonings OH HAHAHAHHAHA

Is this the first ever question?

yes.

I just felt like answering the first question.

They are lost without each other!

Salt was once used as currency, right? Pepper makes you sneeze. I like to sneeze.

aaaachooo!

I just felt like answering the first question.

Salt is the only rock you can eat. It has lots of taste but is odorless. It’s one thing that’s price hasn’t risen much in years. And it looks good on a counter next to pepper.

Don’t they make a cute couple?

columbus came to america looking for pepper.
i mean, that’s gotta have some value.

northern european spices, as opposed to asian / middle eastern spices. white man’s spice.

Salt-N-Pepa helped raise awareness in the mid-80s. Be it ordering fans to “push it” or suggesting that we all talk about sex, Salt-N-Pepa were pioneering females with a headstrong vision and a positive message. They caused a sensation, taking on hot button topics such as AIDS and abusive relationships while delivering witty put-downs to poorly-endowed lovers. Essentially they revolutionized hip-hop as a legitimate and recognized means of spreading a message. Be it political, socio-economical, environmental or whatever. what’s more they showed that women could be heard as loud and clear as any man.

part of that was taken from a biography I read a while back

1.It kills the taste of rancid food
2.It can be used to help preserve food
3.It is complementary in color to each other
4.We have been raised eating it so we are trained to want it

And, most important of all, they are the subject of the very first question on Fluther.

@astroChuck: Indeed. Visiting this question feels like a mini-pilgrimage.

bm- That’s a great way to refer to it. It’s our Mecca.
Unless, of course, one’s Muslim. Then Mecca would be their Mecca.
Did I just refer to you as bm?

We need to start having red chilli pepper right next to salt. Ground black pepper is overrated. i wanted to tour our Mecca too. It’s nice down here.

I wonder if Andrew’s mom ever found that faux fur silver fox jacket that zips?

I wonder every day.

first thread on fluther? sweet. i guess it’s how they spice up food and goes great with almost all food.

This was the first question ever asked?

yeah

Salt is tasty goodness towards food.

Salt has magical drawing powers. It’s mere mention can bring people from far far away. Inquisitive people from other sites will come to marvel. They will then see the family of jellies and be oddly drawn to this place. Soon it will be their home. Oh yeah.. don’t forget to add water so the jellies don’t dry out!!

This is the best question ever.

This quesion was asked over 2 years ago and it’s still going!

Shhh

Because it was the first question asked.

I think it’s worth noting that “Salt & Pepper” is not necessarily a worldwide phenomenon. In many countries in the middle east, there’s a shaker of Zahtar on the table. But why pepper here in the West?

Also, here’s a weird, nonsensical riddle from the Wikipedia article:

I am black on the outside, clad in a wrinkled cover,
Yet within I bear a burning marrow.
I season delicacies, the banquets of kings, and the luxuries of the table,
Both the sauces and the tenderized meats of the kitchen.
But you will find in me no quality of any worth,
Unless your bowels have been rattled by my gleaming marrow.

That was so beautiful.

Zahtar is the best! Dip some bread in olive oil then the Zahtar. This is part of any middle eastern breakfast. MMMMMM

This is hallowed ground. Everyone knows to remove their shoes before visiting this thread, right?

And to keep your head covered.
That’s what the poo-hat is for.

The gleaming marrow of your words has rattled my bowels, Chuck. What you speak is truth.

You know, I’d laugh if someone wrote “First post!!!!!”.
And AC my shoes are off.

First post!!!!!

First post!

Actually, referring to salt and pepper with the “S” word is considered highly pejorative. They’ve reclaimed the word, though, and it’s okay when they call each other that.

-removed shoes and bows down to epic first post
i like the ads that come up on the side of the screen for this question.

the’yre also a rap group from the 90’s ;D

Salt and pepper. Inorganic and organic. Covering all the bases. Perfect.

Like all serious Flutherers, I just had to come back and answer the very first question.

@steelmarket: It’s our holy land.

I speak for all those serious Flutherers who sometimes merely lurk. We are there, reading your responses, long after a thread has died a slow, lonely death…

What’s so special about salt and pepper? will never die!
So long as there are jellies, there will be pilgramages back here!

She speaks the truth!

Light a candle,
Start the fire.
Shake a shaker,
Turn the mill.
Tap the Jelly.

I’d love to see traffic stats for this question. When someone gets curious about what the first question was, and digs it up, they’ll probably post a little something. And then the hundreds of us that are following it all come and see the 5 new responses :).

I like to sneeze, AstroChuck.

Oregano!

Cilantro.

I’m a big fan of basil and crushed red pepper.

um… Paprika! What are we doing?? Paprika is good on porkchops. :d

OMG!! Oh! I have a plan for first thing tomorrow! You guys will NEVA forget me!!

Mmmm, salt.

Salt could have originally been used as “protection” against illness / curses. Not only does it cleanse, but it was also used by witches. A simple superstition could of easily made it to the kitchen table. As far as pepper goes, I’m going with the sneezing explanation. ;)

Ha anyone mentioned that salt and pepper, being basically black and white, go with pretty much any decor and are aesthetically pleasing?

@Dog Spoken like a true artist.

@Augustlan can’t take the artist out of the dog. grin

Salt is one of the major building blocks of life. You can taste it from the very start of life, even in the womb. Pepper is but a poor newcomer, entering the human food chain around 4000 years ago, and it didn’t even reach Europe until about 2000 years ago. Pity poor pepper.

Alliteration, FTW!

I go with chives and cilantro. But not at the same time.

Salt? Wow, who would’ve thought that salt started it all?

@chyna Well, it didn’t quite start it all. You don’t just ask about salt and boom, you gotsa Fluther.

Without salt in the sea there would be no jellies to Fluther. Salt is placed on tables is in honor of jellies worldwide. Pepper is just riding on the coat-tails of salt.

FR9IST!!!!!!111!one11!!

@Grisaille- Hey! Remove your shoes!

._.

sorry

Welcome back, Pilgrims!

Salt and pepper are the spice of my Fluther life.

Without salt us jellies won’t survive. Pepper has the same effect on you as Yahoo! Answers, if you are exposed to it too much, your body will reject it.

Salt: A World History

Yes, I actually have read and own this, for which I get much abuse.

If April showers bring May flowers, what do Mayflowers bring?

Pilgrims!

@mangeons I dunno, I already had ‘pilgrim’ before posting in this thread.

Oh, damn.

Aha!

I get it! :)

@syz I did too. hmmm

Without them, baby Paprika would be an orphan.

testing

Maybe it’s just for visiting the thread.

@augustlan – yep, you only have to visit

@augustlan I got mine before I visited here. So I don’t think it’s that…

@Blondesjon- Good one. And an excellent point at that.

Salt and pepper are tasty. That’s what.

Sarah Palin, you’re so smart. If only more people would have seen you for who you are last year :)

I Can´t believe this thread is still alive. One of the thinsg i most love about fluther is how great questions have a long shelf-life!

This is the Paris Hilton of threads – it’s just famous for being famous.

;-)

What’s special about salt and pepper?...it gives you the Pilgrim award.

space

@Ivan No.

I still want to know more about cumin on the coffee table . . .

bumping a dead thread

@ragingloli You are a great bumper.

@AstroChuck: Can I wear my slippers?

Simple and cheeeep!

Here’s an extension to this question…

If you put salt on meat that you put in a crock pot, where does all the salt flavor go? Unless you salt the everloving crap out of it, it’s still bland in the end. Hmm..

so where is my pilgrim award?

Maybe we just don’t deserve it..

Wars were fought over them. Were worth their weight in gold.

And so good on corn.

they are like the spice in dune…

Pepper covers the flavor of rotting meat.

its easy to understand what is so special about salt. it makes EVERYTHING TASTE 20 TIMES BETTER. in my opinion anyhow. i’m told i over-salt my food. i’m going to die young, probably, but i hope not.

Wow, the first question. I wonder, if I sat here and just kept hitting newer, how long would it take me to get to the most recent question. Salt is great on lemons by the way, give it a try some time.

@dalepetrie I do it with tequila, but on it’s own? I do love lemon though, but it makes my teeth sensitive. I would love to eat lemon like an orange, but I don’t dare to.

@oratio One time I was driving with a woman I didn’t know from SF to Denver and the truck in front of us smelled bad so she made me cut a lemon that she happened to have to freshen the air. So I felt bad letting it go to waste since it was off of her own lemon tree, so I ate the whole thing. I got the worst headache I’ve ever had in my life. And I was stuck in a car…for about 12 more hours…it was really a pretty terrible experience. So if you dig into a lemon, just don’t eat the entire thing.

I probably eat 3 or 4 lemons a week, sprinkle some salt on them and eat them up. I probably eat too much salt, but I’m on bp meds because of diabetes which makes my bp high, and the meds bring it down to really low, so I figure, at least there’s no carbs and you have to pick your battles.

@dalepetrie Do you like the taste or are you warding off scurvy? ;)

I love it. I’ve been eating salt on lemons since I was 8.

@deni Oh. I’ll try to remember that. I worked as a bartender for a couple of years, and I ate citrus slices now and then, but not that much. Her own lemon tree… sounds fantastic. I wish I had a lemon tree, an olive tree and an avocado tree. There are times I wish I could move to the US.
@dalepetrie Ah, that’s a lot of lemon. No damage to your teeth?

When I go to mexico there are venders selling sliced fruit, they put salt and chili power on it.
It really enhances the flavor.

Nope, never lost a tooth, I have a lot of fillings, but I think that’s because of my sweet tooth and the fact that I wasn’t the best at remembering to brush my teeth as a kid.

I have now made my pilgrimage. I will sit and bask in the glow of the mother ship question then sacrifice a goat to see if I earn the pilgrim award.

yay, i finally got the award

Yo’ pilgrim.

I just put salt and water into a neti pot and cleaned out my sinuses.

Can you do that with pepper?

Next time you drink a beer from a can, squeeze a little lemon juice into the rim of the can top, and sprinkle with salt. So good!

@augustlan – I’m not a beer drinker, just not my favorite beverage, but I do have 3 or 4 cans a year, I’ll try that next time the opportunity presents itself.

Will do, @augustlan. Thanks for the suggestion, plain old beer was getting kinda boring. ;)

Wow, I ended up here. The first ever question on Fluther! I feel i must take a bow…

It’s warm in here.

I can feel the lurve…

There seems to be an echo…echo…echo…

I’m shallow. I want the award.

Though, in my opinion, salt and pepper are the best yet simplest flavors to enhance a food’s natural goodness. A salad with olive oil, salt and pepper is oh, so tasty. Also, my potato soup’s only flavors are simply salt and pepper and it’s delicious.

I can’t imagine a better first question

It is racial harmony?

<Shakes fist at @mangeons… my 14 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER!>

@ubersiren: Oh hey, me too.

But salt is great for margaritas. Pepper not so much.

I do know that it’s proper table etiquette to pass them together, even if asked to only pass just one.

@augustlan lol4rl

Welcome home, Tits.

@breedmitch: Well thanks :) I’d been on an unintentional hiatus, and it’s great to be back.

@TitsMcGhee the first person who’s Q I answered on fluther! Awesome to have you back!!!

@Dr_C: Wow, I’m impressed that you remember that! Out of interest, what question was it?

@TitsMcGhee I honestly can’t remember.. i do however know that you were also the first person to reply to one of my quips and the first person i added to my fluther. Also… i remember loving your reactions on a thread about steak and blow job day!

Her name is TitsMcGhee. A man does not forget that.

They like to Push It.