"john" wrote in message
oups.com...
I would agree that salt absorbs moisture, its in its nature to do so.
I'm amazed that here on the west coast, or wet coast as many call it,
salt does not seem to cake even at high humidity levels. Even so, I
would think that salt would cause some instabilty in whatever wood you
choose. I'd go for an insert of some description to keep the salt from
being in direct contact with the wood. Or, you could seal the inside
with epoxy, use a water-thin variety and make sure that it is well
sealed then you effectively have a plastic insert in the shaker.


Salt in Europe is often kept in wooden containers on the table rather than
in "shakers," and is dispensed with a spoon, usually of wood. Impurities in
the form of calcium chloride used to make some salt highly hygroscopic, but
the modern table stuff has little or none, and some silicate added so that
"when it rains, it pours."

Wood is hygroscopic, as is sugar, and for the same reason. Hygroscopicity
of NaCl would not figure prominently in my choice of container. Comes in
wood, after all, though both are highly processed.