A sugar caster is a small container, with a perforated top, larger than a

salt shaker Salt and pepper shakers or salt and pepper pots, of which the first item is normally called a salt cellar in British English, are condiment dispensers used in Western culture that are designed to allow diners to distribute grains of edible salt ...

but similar in form. The sugar caster was part of a set of vessels, and a rack to hold them used to contain spices and condiments on the dining table. The set would have a salt shaker, a pepper shaker, a vinegar cruet, an oil cruet, a sugar shaker, and a mayonnaise jar with spoon. The word is first attested to in 1676. The set was used by the affluent and wealthy, to cast or sprinkle, pepper, sugar, salt, or the like, in the form of powder. The name comes from the act of casting the contents when using the set. The name was extended to other vessels used to contain condiments at table, and eventually to the type of sugar with crystal size that could easily be cast (‘

caster sugar Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refine ...

’). Until well into the 19th century, sugar came in solid blocks called sugar loaves,'The Useful Arts and Manufactures of Great Britain - Sugar", Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1846.
/ref> which needed to be broken into smaller pieces to use. Only the wealthy could afford the effort needed to produce the small granules needed for a sugar caster. Deerr, Noël. ''History of Sugar - Vol 2''. London: Chapman & Hall, 1950. A caster may also be a pierced spoon for sprinkling sugar, with no integral container, to be used with a sugar-bowl (or at least, with a bowl of sugar). Such casters are usually silver or plate.

References

{{Reflist Sugar Condiments