How many holes do Salt and pepper shakers have?

Answer 1

It depends on the designer. There's no standard number of holes for salt and pepper shakers.

Very often, a set will have different hole configuration. One shaker will have one hole, and the other a number of holes. So...which goes in which?

The "Flavor" camp says that Salt goes in the shaker with more holes because people use salt more often, and in greater amounts. This equalizes the need, making one shake roughly the same for either spice.

On the other hand, the "Flow" camp argues that Pepper goes in the shaker with more holes because it consists of larger chunks than salt. This equalizes the flow, making one shake roughly the same for either spice.

The International Guild of Professional Butlers has the most complete answer going with the Flow approach and actually talks more about the size of the holes: "The salt shaker may be distinguished primarily by the size of the holes, and then by the number of holes. Salt is coarser than pepper, and needs the larger hole. It is also heavier and flows much more freely than pepper, accordingly there are often fewer holes on the salt shaker to help control the flow. However, there is no manufacturing standard."

But according to a comment left on a blog debating this very issue, there's one good solution:

I submit that the reasonable solution is to load up the shakers, give them a couple of good shakes, see if a reasonable amount of condiment is dispensed from each, and if so, mix a martini and call it a day.

If the condiment distribution differential (CDD) is too high, reverse the salt/pepper distribution and try again, then pick the one that is better.