The end of an era

[ladyofastolat]

I have just decanted the last of the salt into a little salt shaker. The carton* of salt (750g) came from Safeway, which dates it to before 2004, when it turned into Morrisons. However, we stopped shopping in Safeway c. 1999, when a new Sainburys opened up right next door to where we were then living. The copyright date on the carton design is 1993. We moved to the island in 1994, setting up house from scratch, so I think it is entirely possible that this salt carton was bought in 1994, and has lasted us nearly 20 years. I feel a strong urge to commemorate this with something probably-ritual, but can't think what. This is despite having recently read an entire book on the social and cultural history of salt.

* Some years ago, we had had a long conversation with various relatives over Christmas dinner** as to the differences between jars, cans, packets, and so on. "That squidgy plastic container you get salt in" caused us particular difficulty, but I think we settled on "carton" in the end.

** No, conversation in our family is not generally particularly racy, daring or world-changing

Comments

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

I remember a letter in some "Good Housekeeping" type magazine, from a lady who had bought a one-pound carton (?) of cloves when she got married, and was still using it ... forty years later ...

[leesa_perrie]

Hmm, I would recommend a salt party - full of salty goodies - but that's not good for your heart, apparently, and I wouldn't want to kill you! So, maybe write a story that includes lots of salt related factoids and references?! :D

Btw, congrats on making it last so long, and I'm glad I'm not the only person who has conversations as scintillating and world-changing as that!! :D

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

A story included lots of salt folklore is quite an appealing idea, actually. I do like drawing on folklore (especially English folklore) in my writing, although not all fandoms lend themselves to this.

[leesa_perrie]

Trying to think of puns involving the word salt - as-salt, in-salt, con-salt - hmm... think I'll give up now!

[king-pellinor.livejournal.com]

I thought we decided on "canister"?

[purplecat]

Ceremonial burial of the possibly carton?

Or you could ritually turn it into something else by making it clothes and painting a face on it and then put it on the Christmas tree… I'd suggest Lot's wife, but I'm not sure you'd want her on your Christmas tree.

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

Since a gift of salt is a way of bringing luck and prosperity to a new house, I fear that the ceremonial burial of an empty salt container in the grounds of a house might be a horrible curse, dooming the householder to poverty and starvation. (Hmm... Maybe I should find someone I don't like, and test this theory out on them.) But ritual recycling sounds fun. I might have to retrieve it from the wheelie bin and see what craft inspiration strikes. :-)

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

"...a gift of salt is a way of bringing luck and prosperity"


That's not what the Carthaginians th0ought after the Third Punic War...

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

My salt container, still mostly full, may be nearly that old.

Salt at least doesn't have an expiration date. I have small jars of store-bought herbs whose expiration dates passed years ago, but they'll still flavorful.

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

Thinking about it, and considering just how little salt we get through, I'm now quite surprised that we've got through nearly 750g of it in 20 years. Or maybe we used to use more than we do now? It's kind of depressing to think that the next salt carton I buy may well last us the rest of our lives.

[jane-somebody.livejournal.com]

I think we may have used salt in large amounts for non-culinary things such as slug-barriers in the past - might similar explain some of your salt use? Alternatively, guests? Certainly people coming to stay in our house tends at some point to lead to a search for a salt-shaker (for cooking, it just tends to come from the big plastic container.)

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

I use a salt shaker for cooking, since I find the small size more manageable. I don't think it's ever found its way onto a table, even with guests, but I don't know. I've just about managed to remember that guests might want sugar in their tea, but it never occurs to me that they might want to shake salt over their food.

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

That's amazing!

[jane-somebody.livejournal.com]

Hmm, if it's a plastic one, I'm dubious about use of the word 'carton', which I feel should be reserved for things primarily cardboardy in order to remain true to its etymology. Possibly for the tricky things, just using 'container' would suffice?