Salt Pots

Sometimes called salt kit, salt pig or salt cellar, although salt cellars are usually lidded.

They are designed to sit by the stove. The hooded design keeps objects from falling in and keep salt dry. The small birchwood spoon I include holds 1/4 teaspoon of salt to give an exact measurement.

Potters started making these items in the late eighteenth century in the north of England. They get their name from an old Scottish/English term used to describe an earthernware vessel. Same root word for piggy bank.

Accessories

Accessories are the interesting and unusual things that find their way into the kitchen, or onto the dinner table.

I like to have fun with these items, because they add a special dimension to a pottery colleciton. For instance, I like to make my pitcher look a little like a bird.

Each year I choose a few new things to focus on, and leave a few behind, to do another time.

This year I've been working on pie plates. They'll be ready for the summer.

French Butter Dish - comes to us from the nineteenth century. Sometimes called a butter keeper or butter crock, it's a low-tech way to keep butter soft and fresh without refrigeration. Today it is more popular in North America than in France.

To use a French Butter Dish fill the top (left) with butter. Fill the base (centre) 1/4 full of cold water. Place the top into the base (right). If you have enough water it will create an airtight seal that keeps oxygen away from the butter (oxygen is what turns butter rancid).