A cruet (), also called a caster, is a small flat-bottomed vessel with a narrow neck. Cruets often have a lip or spout and may also have a handle. Unlike a small

carafe A carafe () is a glass container with a flared lip used for serving liquids, especially wine and coffee. Unlike the related decanter, carafes generally do not include stoppers. Coffee pots included in coffee makers are also referred to as ''c ...

, a cruet has a stopper or lid. Cruets are normally made of glass, ceramic, stainless steel, or copper.

Uses

Cruets today typically serve a

culinary Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking, and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

function, holding liquid condiments such as

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

and

balsamic vinegar Balsamic vinegar () is a dark, concentrated, intensely flavoured vinegar made wholly or partially from Must, grape must: freshly crushed grape juice with all the skins, seeds, and stems. Etymology The Italian language, Italian word (from Lat ...

. They often have a filter built into them to act as a strainer, so that vinegar containing herbs and other solid ingredients will pour clear. Cruets also serve as decanters for

lemon juice The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

and other oils. They are also used for the serving of the wine and water in the Christian

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

, especially those of the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, and

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

traditions.

History

The English word "cruet" originates with the

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th

Cruet
. Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper. 2001. Retrieved 2009-01-01. Some speculate that the early use of cruets was ecclesiastical —there is for example Biblical use of a "cruse of oil", a jug or jar to hold liquid (I Books of Kings">Kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Kings: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations. *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'', an 11th-century epic Persia ...

17:16). A few cruets dating from the Medieval ages still exist today. Its culinary use, however, was first introduced in the late 17th century. Cardinal Mazarin had a pair of salad cruets on his dining table at his home in France, one for olive oil and the other for vinegar. The use of oil and vinegar cruets rapidly spread throughout Italy, where oil and vinegar were already in frequent use. Oil and vinegar cruets are common on Italian and Portuguese tables to this day.

Types

Mair Pair of cruets set with gemstones 02

Cruets range from nominal decanters to the highly decorative

cut glass Cut glass or cut-glass is a technique and a style of decorating glass. For some time the style has often been produced by other techniques such as the use of Molding (process), moulding, but the original technique of cutting glass on an abrasiv ...

. Some cruets are unusual, and can either be intended to be ornamental or functional. During some

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

religious ceremonies, primarily the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

altar cruet An altar cruet or mass cruet is a small jug used in mass to carry the water or wine that are used in the consecration. The current cruets have replaced the old amphoras that, with the name of hama or amula, were used to receive and carry the chal ...

s are used to keep the

sacramental wine Sacramental wine, Communion wine, altar wine, or wine for consecration is wine obtained from grapes and intended for use in celebration of the Eucharist (also referred to as the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion, among other names). It is usually ...

and water. These cruets are usually made of glass, though sometimes they are made of precious metals such as gold or silver. Cruets specifically intended for religious ceremonies come in pairs: one to contain water, often marked ''A'' for ''Aqua'', and one to contain wine, ''V'' for ''Vinum''. These two liquids are mixed during the portion known as the Preparation of the Gifts.

References

External links

* {{Lutheran Divine Service Christian religious objects Serving and dining

Uses

History

Types

See also

References

External links