Apart from a poorly cooked meal there can be little worse than biting into your food only to find that there is either far too much or hardly any salt.
As we all have different tastes it is hard to know how much to add to food for other people so an ideal way to let them choose for themselves is to place a salt shaker on the table with the meal.
The first salt holders were produced in 1858 and were designed by the man who patented the Mason Jar.
The main reason a jar was needed was to protect the salt from damp and stop it solidifying.
The original ones did not have holes in the top, but the salt was just kept in a fully sealed jar.
The shaker is the follower of the salt grinder.
It had been accepted that salt would form lumps, so the grinder just ground it up and bits fell onto the food.
As salt was milled more finely, it made sense to start using a shaker.
It will depend on the circumstances and location exactly what type of shaker to get.
They range from cheap and cheerful plastic ones through glass to china and porcelain and most expensive of all silver.
What is acceptable in a small cafe or greasy spoon will not go down well with diners in more expensive restaurants.
They were also used in most private houses, but as many trends and fashions change, they have not been as popular since the end of WWII.
In most establishments they will appear alongside a pepper pot and in more upmarket venues as part of a condiment set that will also include mustard, vinegar.
Not all salt shaker styles will make it obvious that they contain salt.
If they are glass you will be able to see the white substance inside, but if it is not possible to see what is inside, there is way of telling which is which.
The saltshaker will only have one hole on the top whereas the pepper part will have up to 8.
It has been said that this is an attempt to limit salt intake for health reasons but there may have been other reasons when the items where first manufactured.
As there are so many different types, collecting them is now an acceptable hobby.
It is easy to pick a set up for a couple of £s but there are some that can run into quite a lot more.
Over the years the style of the shaker has changed.
Where as they would have all been roughly the same size and shape, it is now possible to get them in the shape of almost everything you can think off.
Instead of being a slightly oval glass case with a flat bottom and screw top, they can be designed to look like animals cars, cartoon characters of famous people.
It is not only the classical ones that are collected now but also the novelty ones.
It is still possible to buy a salt shaker although it is an item that does not appear on many wedding gift lists.