A FEAST OF FOLKLORE

In an extract from his new book about British food folklore, BEN GAZUR examines the weirdest culinary traditions, rituals, and tales cooked up across the centuries.

The other day I spilled some salt while cooking. Almost unconsciously I took a pinch and threw it over my left shoulder. Doubtless many of us would have done the same and not given it too much thought. Folklore can have a power that is hard to understand until we examine it. Where did the idea that spilled salt should be thrown over the shoulder come from? It was pondering questions like this that led to me writing this book. It turns out that there is not a singular answer. Some point to salt being given to visitors as a symbol of the host/guest relationship that was formed by dining together; to spill it was a sign that trouble would come between the two and so a little was sacrificed…

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Fortean Times (Digital) - 1 Issue, 449

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