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Salt, Mustard, Vinegar, Pepper

Salt, mustard, vinegar, pepper, / French almond rock…

Pepper (fast)ChantsOwn rope, Long rope

Salt, mustard, vinegar, pepper,
French almond rock.
Bread and butter for our supper,
That’s all mother’s got.
Eggs and bacon, salted heron,
Pease pudding in a pot,
Pickled onions, apple pudding,
We will eat the lot.
Mabel, Mabel, lay the table
Don’t forget the
Salt, Mustard, Vinegar, Pepper...

How to play

Best tried by a single skipper with their own rope, as it can involve a double under on certain words, but it can also be done as a long rope game with good turners. On "pepper" and "supper" try doing the bumps (a double under where the rope travels under the feet twice in one jump).

Where this rhyme comes from

Earliest record
by 1881
Sung in
US, UK

In 1881 an American newspaper described a jump-rope chant listing 'pepper, salt, mustard, cider, vinegar' that speeds up at the end. In 1916 Douglas listed the 'cruet-stand' words salt, mustard, vinegar and pepper among the usual endings of London girls' chants. The longer version here ('French almond rock', 'Mabel, Mabel, lay the table') adds later verses, and the Ballad Index notes that the cruet verse also circulated on its own.

Sources: Reno Evening Gazette, 1 April 1881, p.1 (reprinted from the New York Sun), via ADS-L list post 2004; Norman Douglas, London Street Games (1916), p.52; Traditional Ballad Index (balladindex.org), 'Bluebells, Cockleshells' notes.

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Older and newer versions

The same rhyme, changed by children over the years.

Pepper (fast)Printed 1898Pepper, Salt, Mustard, Cider, VinegarPepper, salt, mustard, cider, vinegar…Pepper (fast)Printed 1898Knife and Fork, Lay the ClothKnife and fork,
Lay the cloth…Pepper (fast)Printed 1916Mabel, Mabel, Lay the TableMabel, Mabel,
Lay the table…ChantsPrinted 1898Andy Pandy, Sugardy CandyAndy Pandy,
Sugardy candy…

More rhymes like this

Pepper (fast)ChantsBluebells, Cockle Shells (Easy Ivy Over)Blue bells, cockle shell Easy ivy over
Oh no, here comes Miss Blackwell…Pepper (fast)Birthday PlumApples, peaches, pears and plums
Tell me when your birthday comes…Pepper (fast)Printed 1916What O She BumpsWhat O she bumps,
She skips and she jumps…