A recent YT video by Joe Scott* refers to the odd phenomenon of how mundane items that are part of the fabric of everyday life can quite suddenly fall out of use, and their nature and purpose can become completely forgotten within little more than a generation.

One of the examples he cites is popularly known as  the ‘Third Condiment Mystery’, and was first mentioned by the American author Bill Bryson in his 2010 book “At Home: A Short History of Private Life”.

https://nowiknow.com/the-mystery-of-the-third-shaker/

The essence of the problem is that well into the late Victorian era, silver cruet sets (like the one below) used to be supplied with three shakers and two bottles. The two bottles (which are technically known as the cruets) held vinegar and olive oil respectively. Two of the silver sprinklers contained salt and pepper. The problem is that no-one seems to be able to remember what the third sprinkler was used for !

You might think it would be a trivial matter to delve back into Victorian culinary literature like "Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management" (1861), or the sales brochures of companies that manufactured these cruet sets, in order to find out what you were supposed to put in the sprinklers. But in reality the truth is much more elusive, with many diverse explanations being offered by internet users citing family traditions, old journals, and even personal memories.

Probably the best explanation can be found by recalling that the silver sprinklers in a cruet set were often known as ‘casters’ (also spelled ‘castors’) which may call to mind a household item known as ‘caster sugar’. Well into the early 20th century, sugar used to be suppled as solid ‘sugar loaves’ which had to be broken up and ground down with a pestle and mortar into a fine powder which could then be stored in a ‘caster’ i.e. a silver sprinkler, which was the third condiment in the cruet set, and was then used to sprinkle extra sugar on desserts.

Alternative explanations offered are that the third condiment sprinkler was for black pepper (as opposed to white pepper), or that it was for dried mustard powder (which you mixed with vinegar), or that  it contained dehydrated vinegar powder - (which seems unlikely, given that the cruet set already had a vinegar bottle.)

*footnote - The Joe Scott video is one about the mysterious Gallo/Roman Dodecahedra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smYbNisW5yI

6 minutes ago, toucana said:

A recent YT video by Joe Scott* refers to the odd phenomenon of how mundane items that are part of the fabric of everyday life can quite suddenly fall out of use, and their nature and purpose can become completely forgotten within little more than a generation.

One of the examples he cites is popularly known as  the ‘Third Condiment Mystery’, and was first mentioned by the American author Bill Bryson in his 2010 book “At Home: A Short History of Private Life”.

https://nowiknow.com/the-mystery-of-the-third-shaker/

The essence of the problem is that well into the late Victorian era, silver cruet sets (like the one below) used to be supplied with three shakers and two bottles. The two bottles (which are technically known as the cruets) held vinegar and olive oil respectively. Two of the silver sprinklers contained salt and pepper. The problem is that no-one seems to be able to remember what the third sprinkler was used for !

You might think it would be a trivial matter to delve back into Victorian culinary literature like "Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management" (1861), or the sales brochures of companies that manufactured these cruet sets, in order to find out what you were supposed to put in the sprinklers. But in reality the truth is much more elusive, with many diverse explanations being offered by internet users citing family traditions, old journals, and even personal memories.

Probably the best explanation can be found by recalling that the silver sprinklers in a cruet set were often known as ‘casters’ (also spelled ‘castors’) which may call to mind a household item known as ‘caster sugar’. Well into the early 20th century, sugar used to be suppled as solid ‘sugar loaves’ which had to be broken up and ground down with a pestle and mortar into a fine powder which could then be stored in a ‘caster’ i.e. a silver sprinkler, which was the third condiment in the cruet set, and was then used to sprinkle extra sugar on desserts.

Alternative explanations offered are that the third condiment sprinkler was for black pepper (as opposed to white pepper), or that it was for dried mustard powder (which you mixed with vinegar), or that  it contained dehydrated vinegar powder - (which seems unlikely, given that the cruet set already had a vinegar bottle.)

*footnote - The Joe Scott video is one about the mysterious Gallo/Roman Dodecahedra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smYbNisW5yI

“Vinegar powder”? That must be utter nonsense. The essential ingredient of all vinegars is acetic acid, which even in pure form is liquid at RTP. The caster sugar explanation seems the most likely, especially since it would be applied in larger quantities than salt or pepper and thus would require a larger dispenser.

My grandparents, who grew up in the Edwardian era, had a silver bowl for caster sugar with a special spoon with holes in, to allow you to shake caster sugar onto stewed fruit, which was a common dessert, often using cooking apples (Bramleys - very English), plums, damsons or gooseberries from the garden, or onto strawberries etc in season. People have rather given up making these cooked fruits, which tended to be rather acid and needed sugar to sweeten them. You almost never see gooseberries or damsons in the shops any more.

By the way, you don’t mix mustard powder with vinegar. Just water. There used to be little silver, often lidded containers with blue glass inserts for mustard, together with a tiny spoon, as part of the cruet set. I have a couple, though I never use them. People no longer often serve joints of beef or ham, carved at table, which was their main use. ( I do mix up mustard from powder for ham, but tend to use ready-made Dijon mustard for beef, which has both oil and vinegar in it and has a milder taste. Mustard powder is also good in Welsh rabbit and cheese soufflés.)

Edited June 5Jun 5 by exchemist

3 hours ago, exchemist said:

“Vinegar powder”? That must be utter nonsense.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_diacetate

3 hours ago, exchemist said:

Vinegar powder”? That must be utter nonsense. The essential ingredient of all vinegars is acetic acid, which even in pure form is liquid at RTP.

AFAICT it’s vinegar that’s been absorbed by some solid “carrier” (maltodextrin or modified food starch) and then much of the liquid is evaporated.

You can buy vinegar powder.

edit: xpost with JC

Just now, John Cuthber said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_diacetate

Thank you I have learned something there. +1

19 minutes ago, John Cuthber said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_diacetate

Interesting. Was this salt used domestically, in days gone by, as a flavouring? I must say I have never heard of such a thing.

5 hours ago, toucana said:

items that are part of the fabric of everyday life can quite suddenly fall out of use, and their nature and purpose can become completely forgotten within little more than a generation.

Antimacassar. Many people (in the US, anyway) have no knowledge of Macassar oil and its use as a hair oil in the 19th century, so the original purpose of the cloths placed over chair backs has been largely forgotten. You rarely see the cloths now except as a decorative touch on antique furniture.

When I saw "third condiment," I was thinking it was sugar. Though some are moving back towards less processed food, too few Americans will consider a bowl of fruit (especially tart fruit that might call for a sprinkle of table sugar) a dessert.

9 hours ago, exchemist said:

“My grandparents, who grew up in the Edwardian era, had a silver bowl for caster sugar with a special spoon with holes in, to allow you to shake caster sugar onto stewed fruit, which was a common dessert, often using cooking apples (Bramleys - very English), plums, damsons or gooseberries from the garden, or onto strawberries etc in season. People have rather given up making these cooked fruits, which tended to be rather acid and needed sugar to sweeten them. You almost never see gooseberries or damsons in the shops any more.

By the way, you don’t mix mustard powder with vinegar. Just water. There used to be little silver, often lidded containers with blue glass inserts for mustard, together with a tiny spoon, as part of the cruet set. I have a couple, though I never use them. People no longer often serve joints of beef or ham, carved at table, which was their main use. ( I do mix up mustard from powder for ham, but tend to use ready-made Dijon mustard for beef, which has both oil and vinegar in it and has a milder taste. Mustard powder is also good in Welsh rabbit and cheese soufflés.)

I well remember my mother making stewed fruit desserts of this type  - gooseberries in particular. We didn’t have a sugar caster in our cruet set, but we did have one of those small silver mustard pots you mention with a smaller blue glass pot inside - and yes you mixed up the mustard with water.

The history of the condiments found on an English dining table is quite interesting. The 17th century diarist Samuel Pepys mentions having a nutmeg grater on the table along with rosemary and mace dispensers to season meat dishes (they also put nutmeg into beverages).

Some people say they have pre-WWII childhood memories of being told that only men were supposed to season dishes with black pepper, while women were  only supposed to use the white pepper shaker - which sounds wonderfully prissy, but chimes with some other tales I have heard of social mores from that period.

The Victorian era is not really that long ago. When I was 8 years old, I recall talking with my maternal grandfather who lived in Newport Isle of Wight, and he told me how his own 8th birthday party on 22 January 1901 had been abruptly terminated when news came down the street that Queen Victoria had just died at nearby Osborne House. A couple of days later my grandfather climbed a tree to watch the Queen’s funeral cortege go by, as her coffin was transported up the main road to Cowes to be taken over to the mainland on board the royal yacht.

Edited June 5Jun 5 by toucana
typo "grandfather'

43 minutes ago, toucana said:

I well remember my mother making stewed fruit desserts of this type  - gooseberries in particular. We didn’t have a sugar caster in our cruet set, but we did have one of those small silver mustard pots you mention with a smaller blue glass pot inside - and yes you mixed up the mustard with water.

The history of the condiments found on an English dining table is quite interesting. The 17th century diarist Samuel Pepys mentions having a nutmeg grater on the table along with rosemary and mace dispensers to season meat dishes (they also put nutmeg into beverages).

Some people say they have pre-WWII childhood memories of being told that only men were supposed to season dishes with black pepper, while women were  only supposed to use the white pepper shaker - which sounds wonderfully prissy, but chimes with some other tales I have heard of social mores from that period.

The Victorian era is not really that long ago. When I was 8 years old, I recall talking with my maternal grandfather who lived in Newport Isle of Wight, and he told me how his own 8th birthday party on 22 January 1901 had been abruptly terminated when news came down the street that Queen Victoria had just died at nearby Osborne House. A couple of days later my grandfather climbed a tree to watch the Queen’s funeral cortege go by, as her coffin was transported up the main road to Cowes to be taken over to the mainland on board the royal yacht.

Your maternal grandfather was 9 yrs older than mine then. Nutmeg is interesting. Good with things like cauliflower. Can also go in mashed potatoes but you must be careful to use only a trace. I suspect in the days of simple roasts, a few condiments on the table were more of a requirement, to season and flavour the meat. Rosemary is good with lamb. I’m not sure how to use mace. Sage good with pork.

I was delighted to find damsons on the market stall a couple of years ago, in early September. I bought a couple of kilos, stewed them up with sugar and froze them in batches. A real taste of childhood - and excellent with Greek yoghourt.

23 minutes ago, exchemist said:

Nutmeg is interesting. Good with things like cauliflower. Can also go in mashed potatoes but you must be careful to use only a trace. I suspect in the days of simple roasts, a few condiments on the table were more of a requirement, to season and flavour the meat. Rosemary is good with lamb. I’m not sure how to use mace. Sage good with pork.

Mace is the fibrous outer casing that encloses a nutmeg seed, and is supplied in either whole ‘blades’ or as a ground powder. I think it can be used  in very much the same way that nutmeg or cardamom is.

There is a vivid description in Samuel Pepys’ diary entry for Thursday 16 November 1665 where he describes visiting the hold of a spice ship newly arrived from the Indies:

So I on board my Lord Bruncker; and there he and Sir Edmund Pooly carried me down into the hold of the India shipp, and there did show me the greatest wealth lie in confusion that a man can see in the world. Pepper scattered through every chink, you trod upon it; and in cloves and nutmegs, I walked above the knees; whole rooms full.

21 hours ago, TheVat said:

Antimacassar. Many people (in the US, anyway) have no knowledge of Macassar oil and its use as a hair oil in the 19th century, so the original purpose of the cloths placed over chair backs has been largely forgotten. You rarely see the cloths now except as a decorative touch on antique furniture.

The story of the antimacassar is quite interesting in its own right. It’s origin can be traced to the rising fashion for using Macassar hair oil which was first promoted by a London barber called Alexander Rowland in 1803

https://windowthroughtime.wordpress.com/tag/rowlands-macassar-oil/

According to this account, a need for this unguent arose directly from the demise of the wig in about 1795.

To understand the origin of the unusual name given to this piece of adornment to a chair we need to understand what happened when the powdered wig met its demise at the end of the 18th century. Any man worth his salt during the 18th century would wear a powdered wig on his usually shaven or closely cropped head. The powder used to give the wig their distinguished look was made of starch, a vital ingredient of which was flour.

In the run up to what we now know as the Napoleonic war, the Pitt administration grew both increasingly repressive and fiscally active. Flour became scarce and the imposition of a tax on hair powder in 1795 meant that wigs soon became old hat.

The type of greasy ointment gentlemen now needed to slick down their hair was known by the French word pomade because it was originally made from apples (Latin: pomum). Rowland’s concoction was given the exotic name of Rowland’s Macassar oil because it was supposedly made from plant oils that came from around Makassar, a seaport on the island of Sulawesi in the Dutch East Indies. In actual fact the principal ingredient is thought to have come from the Kusum (Schleichera Oleosa) or Ceylon Oak, a tree native to the Indian sub-continent.

By the 1830s, housewives had begun placing decorative cloths on the headrests of armchairs to protect their upholstery from being stained and damaged by this ubiquitous hair oil. Macassar oil subsequently went out of fashion in the 1850s, but antimacassars which were often made in intricately crotched wool patterns had by now become fashionable and highly desirable decorative art objects in their own right.

The frisson of excitement that these protective objects caused can be judged by this passage from the New London Magazine in 1837; “After Ada had brought out an anti-macassar of a new pattern, a present from London, and had received homage, as its possessor, from her envious friend…”

Antimacassars lingered into the 20th century, and then unexpectedly gained a new lease of life from the introduction of Brylcreem  in 1928 which became a fad both before and just after WW2, until the advent of the Beatles and the hippy era put paid to the  ‘Brylcreem  Boy’ look.

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/fashion-blog/2012/apr/02/brief-history-of-brylcreem

Edited June 6Jun 6 by toucana
Corrected final quote enclosure

5 hours ago, toucana said:

Antimacassars lingered into the 20th century, and then unexpectedly gained a new lease of life from the introduction of Brylcreem  in 1928 which became a fad both before and just after WW2, until the advent of the Beatles and the hippy era put paid to the  ‘Brylcreem  Boy’ look.

Ah yes, "a little dab'll do ya" was still imprinting on young brains when I was quite young. I remember the hair tonic Vitalis (a non-oily product which imparted shine) capitalized on the passing of oily pomades with ads in the sixties in which someone would challenge some poor misguided user of pomade (Brylcreem, by implication) to stop using "that greasy kid's stuff!" I distinctly recall the mid sixties (when the Merseyside lads had fully invaded), when anyone in our school who showed up still wearing hair oil was viewed as either uncool and gross, or an unfortunate victim of parental tyranny. I think I tried it once, ca. age ten, when an uncle allowed me to use his remnant in a long abandoned tube of greasy kid's stuff, and found the sensation pure misery (this was midsummer on the plains of southern Kansas, not really a comfort season for gunk in one's hair - central AC was unheard of, except in movie theaters).

On 6/5/2025 at 8:28 PM, toucana said:

Some people say they have pre-WWII childhood memories of being told that only men were supposed to season dishes with black pepper, while women were  only supposed to use the white pepper shaker - which sounds wonderfully prissy, but chimes with some other tales I have heard of social mores from that period.

Our family tradition was to use whole black peppercorns in stews. This went back to at least my maternal great-grandmother's kitchen when the stew was cooked in a set pot overnight in front of an open hearth ready for the menfolk's breakfast before they headed off for a shift down Saint John's in the West Riding coalfield. I'm not sure exactly when she was born, but I was left her father's birth mug dated 10th October, 1840 as we shared a birthday 118 years apart.

Anyway, she passed her tradition down to my grandmother and mother, and although we'd left the pit villages and scrag end and shin behind, our stews still were seasoned with whole black pepper, with ground white pepper reserved for tomatoes, strawberries and peas pudding mainly.

Btw how can anyone mention nutmeg and not mention rice pudding? Match made in heaven!

On the subject of Pomade: One detail I hadn’t fully grasped until I did some more reading, was that pomade was used during the 18th century to deodorise and dress a wig, prior to applying a starch-based powder in order to impart a ghostly whiteness to the horsehair.

This splendid 18th century French caricature by Carle Vernet shows the process in action. The owner of the wig is sat on a chair with the wig in place on their head  - wearing both a protective apron and a conical face-mask. The hairdresser is blowing wig powder onto the wig with a ‘puff’ or brush whisk (they might also employ a miniature set of bellows). To limit any unwanted spread of powder, this procedure was carried out in a small ante-room set aside for this purpose known as a ‘powder room’.

On 6/5/2025 at 4:16 PM, TheVat said:

Antimacassar. Many people (in the US, anyway) have no knowledge of Macassar oil and its use as a hair oil in the 19th century, so the original purpose of the cloths placed over chair backs has been largely forgotten. You rarely see the cloths now except as a decorative touch on antique furniture.

When I saw "third condiment," I was thinking it was sugar. Though some are moving back towards less processed food, too few Americans will consider a bowl of fruit (especially tart fruit that might call for a sprinkle of table sugar) a dessert.

~This reads as if there was a powder called antimacassar that could be sprinkled form a sprinkler as pictured.

I have only ever come across your stated purpose of a protective cloth cover and cannot find reference to anything else.

They are still used in some places, some airlines, trainlines and coachlines in particular.

Equally I cannot see such a powder being placed with food in a cruet set for the diner.

The servants would have handled and put out the proctive cloths.

Caster suger is definitely the most likely as the larger size fits the quantity of added sugar v that of salt or pepper as does the larger sprinkling holes.

7 hours ago, sethoflagos said:

Our family tradition was to use whole black peppercorns in stews. This went back to at least my maternal great-grandmother's kitchen when the stew was cooked in a set pot overnight in front of an open hearth ready for the menfolk's breakfast before they headed off for a shift down Saint John's in the West Riding coalfield. I'm not sure exactly when she was born, but I was left her father's birth mug dated 10th October, 1840 as we shared a birthday 118 years apart.

Anyway, she passed her tradition down to my grandmother and mother, and although we'd left the pit villages and scrag end and shin behind, our stews still were seasoned with whole black pepper, with ground white pepper reserved for tomatoes, strawberries and peas pudding mainly.

Btw how can anyone mention nutmeg and not mention rice pudding? Match made in heaven!

Here is a picture of a modern day 'spice ball'.

You (partly) fill the ball with appropriate quantities of appropriated spices and dangle it in stews, casseroles etc during cooking.

This prevents uwnated release of unwated particles such as clove sticks etc.

1 hour ago, studiot said:

~This reads as if there was a powder called antimacassar that could be sprinkled form a sprinkler as pictured.

I have only ever come across your stated purpose of a protective cloth cover and cannot find reference to anything else.

They are still used in some places, some airlines, trainlines and coachlines in particular.

Equally I cannot see such a powder being placed with food in a cruet set for the diner.

The servants would have handled and put out the proctive cloths.

The antimacasser was introduced into this discussion as a different example of another object whose original function and role has been mislaid and forgotten over time - nothing to do with cruet sets.

There are some entertaining online quizzes where viewers are challenged to identify up to 30 obsolete tools or artefacts from the past. I managed to get 28/30 in this particular quiz (missed #23 and #26). In a disturbing number of cases I'd actually used or handled some of these objects professionally !

On 6/5/2025 at 2:01 PM, exchemist said:

I must say I have never heard of such a thing.

I don't know if it was in common use. I have seen it listed as a flavouring.
But the point is that it wasn't hard to prove that it was not

On 6/5/2025 at 10:28 AM, exchemist said:

utter nonsense.

A spot of googling would have told you that, and I think you owe the OP an apology.

2 hours ago, John Cuthber said:

I don't know if it was in common use. I have seen it listed as a flavouring.
But the point is that it wasn't hard to prove that it was not

A spot of googling would have told you that, and I think you owe the OP an apology.

Ok mea culpa, though as @toucana was simply reporting alternative hypotheses and did not think the vinegar powder option was likely either, I think I can safely leave it without offending him too much.🙂

Edited June 8Jun 8 by exchemist

2 hours ago, John Cuthber said:

I don't know if it was in common use. I have seen it listed as a flavouring.
But the point is that it wasn't hard to prove that it was not

A spot of googling would have told you that, and I think you owe the OP an apology.

I was quite sceptical in my OP about dehydrated vinegar powder being the missing condiment, not least because it’s hygroscopic and would quickly become soggy and lumpy inside a shaker when exposed to humid air - so I would hardly blame exchemist for being dismissive about it too.

Apparently quite a few people in both Hungary and the wider area of the old Austro-Hungarian empire insist that the third shaker in a cruet set was for paprika -  (ground red pepper).

https://www.reddit.com/r/nonmurdermysteries/comments/ismj11/salt_pepper_and_19thcentury_table_sets_feature_a/

Some of them also say that the third shaker had a hinged lid, and in central European restaurants at least, was often used to store toothpicks !

Edited June 8Jun 8 by toucana
corrected exchemist

2 hours ago, toucana said:

I was quite sceptical in my OP about dehydrated vinegar powder being the missing condiment, not least because it’s hygroscopic and would quickly become soggy and lumpy inside a shaker when exposed to humid air - so I would hardly blame exchemist for being dismissive about it too.

Is it all that hygroscopic? Salt is, but it doesn’t get soggy and lumpy unless it’s pretty humid.

Looking at the containers, I would assume the two small shakers were salt and pepper, so the larger one would likely be for sugar - in a household with such fine silver, probably castor; in a less prosperous one, coarse brown. Another contender may be honey. A sweet condiment could reduce the sharp edge of vinegar on salads or sweeten fruits. The container seems to have a large handle, presumably so the diner could lift the lid and find a little spoon.

On balance sugar does indeed seem to be the most likely answer.

You can still buy a modern ‘six piece cruet set’  from amazon which contains 2 bottles for oil and vinegar, 2 shakers for salt and pepper, and a seasoning jar  which “comes with a spoon and can be used to store sugar, rock salt, chilli pepper, sauces and much more”  - (The sixth piece is the stainless steel caddy used to hold the other items)

https://www.amazon.com/Vinegar-Pepper-Durable-Stainless-Bottle/dp/B07KYXBMZZ

3 hours ago, swansont said:

Is it all that hygroscopic? Salt is, but it doesn’t get soggy and lumpy unless it’s pretty humid.

No personal experience of handling it, but data sheets say:

Sodium diacetate is white crystal with acetic acid odor, easily hygroscopic, easily soluble in water, decomposed when heated to above 150℃, flammable and stable in cool and dry conditions.

https://justlonghealth.com/product/sodium-diacetate/

Edited June 8Jun 8 by toucana
corrected "No'

Just now, toucana said:

Not personal experience of handling it, but data sheets say:

From what I read it’s mixed with some other agent.

7 minutes ago, swansont said:

From what I read it’s mixed with some other agent.

There seem to be a least two popular DIY methods of creating a 'Salt & Vinegar' seasoning powder described in reddit threads

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskCulinary/comments/1vzi2c/how_do_i_make_vinegar_powder/

One involves mixing vinegar with maltodextrin, and the other involves the partial neutralisation of acetic acid with sodium bicarbonate.

3 hours ago, toucana said:

There seem to be a least two popular DIY methods of creating a 'Salt & Vinegar' seasoning powder described in reddit threads

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskCulinary/comments/1vzi2c/how_do_i_make_vinegar_powder/

One involves mixing vinegar with maltodextrin, and the other involves the partial neutralisation of acetic acid with sodium bicarbonate.

The second route would clearly lead to the diacetate @John Cuthber drew my attention to. The first route would seem to suggest esterification, i.e. with the hydroxyl groups of the glucose units making up the maltodextrin polymer. Perhaps that is easily reversible, allowing regeneration of free acetic acid on contact with food or in the mouth. But I don’t know.