Salt and pepper

For other uses, see Salt and pepper (disambiguation).

Salt and pepper on a dining table of a hotel

Salt and pepper is the common name for edible salt and black pepper, a traditionally paired set of condiments found on dining tables where European-style food is eaten. The pairing of salt and pepper as table condiments dates to seventeenth-century French cuisine, which considered pepper the only spice (as distinct from herbs such as fines herbes) which did not overpower the true taste of food. They are typically found in a set of salt and pepper shakers, often a matched set; however, salt and pepper are typically maintained in separate shakers.