How to Use a Salt Pig

There are plenty of kitchen gadgets designed to make cooking easier, but some of the best are incredibly simple.

A salt pig is one of them.

It’s a small, open ceramic container that sits beside your cooker, giving you easy access to your cooking salt whenever you need it. No lids to remove, no grinder to twist — just reach in and take a pinch.

Keep it beside your cooker

The whole idea of a salt pig is convenience.

Rather than keeping your salt tucked away in a cupboard, a salt pig lives on your kitchen worktop, usually close to the hob. When you’re cooking and need a little extra seasoning, it’s right there.

The wide opening makes it easy to reach in with your fingers, while the shallow shape means you’re not storing a huge amount of salt in an open container.

Pinch your salt or use the spoon

The traditional way to use a salt pig is simply to pinch a little salt between your fingers and add it to your food. There’s something quite satisfying about cooking this way — you can feel how much salt you’re using rather than relying on a shaker. But if you’d rather not use your fingers, my salt pigs come with a small twisted ceramic spoon for scooping. So you can use whichever method feels most natural to you.

 

Fill it with flaky salt

My favourite salt to keep in a salt pig is flaky salt.

The delicate flakes are lovely to cook with and particularly good for finishing food. They’re easy to pick up between your fingers and give you a little more control over how much you’re adding. A good flaky salt can also bring a lovely texture and depth of flavour to simple dishes, so it’s well worth keeping some within easy reach.

 

Why is the opening shallow?

You might notice that my salt pigs have a very open, shallow mouth rather than being a deep container.

That’s intentional.

Because salt is sitting out on your kitchen worktop, I don’t think you need a huge supply sitting there. The shallower design means you can keep a smaller amount readily available and refill it when needed. It’s a small detail, but it’s something I’ve spent a lot of time experimenting with to get right.

 

What else can you put in a salt pig?

And here’s where things get fun. You don’t actually have to use yours for salt at all. A salt pig makes a lovely little container for:

 

• Jewellery or rings

• Cotton pads

• Coins

• Hair clips

• Small everyday bits and pieces

• A tiny air plant

• Spices or other cooking ingredients

I’ve even heard of them being used as little holders for all those miscellaneous things that otherwise end up scattered around the house.

Handmade in small batches

My salt pigs are handmade from stoneware clay and have taken years of experimenting to arrive at the shape I make today. You can even visit the studio to see me making them!

The design may continue to evolve — that’s part of the joy of making pottery — but I’m currently very happy with the proportions, the big open mouth and the little spoon that comes with each one.

They’re made in limited edition batches throughout the year, so availability changes depending on what I’m making in the studio.

If you’ve never owned a salt pig before, they’re one of those small kitchen additions that you don’t realise you need until you’ve got one.