Well, I know you can't eat the stuff (the 'Punta Maya' episode of 'Seinfeld').

I'm pretty sure I've seen packets of it in the container of some types of specialty food products at some point, but I wouldn't want to bet money on this.

I think it might work.

However, I know that people use powdered dry milk packed into paper envelopes to keep stored seeds dry, and that would definitely be a "food safe" dessicant. Perhaps that would work.

Might want to read what I posted about what those packs have already picked up (click on link below).

I live in the South so I have similar humidity problems as you do living near the coast. I've made the dried milk powder in paper towel packets for several years now, like maybe 10, so I know they work well in jars of dried foods in the pantry. (Every time you open a jar, humidity jumps in.)

I also find that some foods never do dry completely so they go from dehydrator to freezer. But sliced or chopped onions just get popped fresh into the freezer on cookie sheets until solid then into bags so they dump out easily later. Sweet peppers get the same treatment, but hot peppers get dried to dust, almost, and they go into jars with the milk packets in the pantry. Parsley and cilantro never dehydrate properly and lose a lot of flavor. I just keep a pot of them growing in the kitchen all year, reseeding more pots when they start to get too tall.

Nancy the nancedar

Here is a link that might be useful: Previous post about dessicant packs

Bejay, it takes 2 to 3 days to dry them ? What kind of dehydrator do you own ? That seems too long to take.
Do you "condition" your foods as you should ? Meaning, put in a clear container with a lid, then check daily for a week to see if there is any condensation. If you see any moisture, then dry some more. You can also put the foods in the oven on low and dry them more dry than you already have them before storing, just in case.
I would not use silica gel, not other than if they were truly from a food item to begin with or vitamins.
Never tried the oxygen absorbers with things like that, but I use them for apples and dried foods like flour, oatmeal, rice, etc. I use mylar bags and the O2 absorbers and iron the bags shut.

Great tip - Nancy. I do have some empty tea bags, that I ordered some time ago. They were originally intended for mint, but found that mint is great stored dried/frozen, and then put in a tea "ball" add hot water for making a combination of black/mint tea. These bags, however, can be ironed shut, and perhaps they could best serve with the dried milk content. I use dried milk a lot in making bread anyway.

Linda Lou - about my dehydrator - it is Excaliber, and I admit it seems a bit slow on the low setting, but preferred to wait a bit longer if necessary, so as not to have stuff over-dry - tasting like grass. Admittedly, I am still experimenting with it - as I find some things work better in other ways - as we all have found from experience.

But perhaps those scapes could be cut a bit thinner too - like thick-walled peppers, which dry better when cut into rings.

I'm not familiar with "mylar bags" - or "O2 absorbers" - unless by other names.

The dessicant packets can be ordered over the Web - fresh without previous use I note. They seem awfully expensive - after adding the shipping cost, which is almost as much as the item itself - bummer.

But will certainly try the dried milk - if it works, that's all that is necessary.

Bejay

Bejay,
Then you have a good dehydrator if you have an Excalibur.
The mylar bags and O2absorbers are not called anything else that I know of. I learned to use them for larger amounts of flour, rice, oatmeal, etc. from a Mormon lady. The foods can keep for 5 years or more in them. The oxygen absorbers can be used in dry things, too, stored in jars. I have powdered milk in jars like that and herbs. I used my canning jars.
You can do a search online if interested. I bought mine from the gal who taught me. The O2 absorbers were 8 cents each. They are not the same as dessicant packets. They won't absorb moisture, just oxygen. Still, they have been a great way to learn to store other foods. I opened flour that was 2 years old and it was so fresh and nice. Same for some Jasmine rice.
Hope you find a way to keep your scapes dry enough. I freeze a lot of things like onions and shallots. Never had the scapes before.

Uhh, I've already heard about this packs. But I am a little confused as there is a stuff that is in colored blue but the other is in white. Which one is it is to be purchased? Which one is cobalt free? I want to use them to eliminate moisture in my cookies.