In the "old" days, it was always suggested to put in raw rice to absorb moisture. Sometimes could even see it in the salt shakers in restaurants. Wonder if that would work for on. powder. My garl. powder clumps, too.

arline

It's just one more reason to use fresh onion and fresh garlic. Those are basic to so much cooking. The powders seem a poor substitute. For efficiency in prep work, maybe keep a few days supply chopped and stored in the fridge.

Jim

I've used the silica packs too, but.... the main reason that happens is because we tend to shake the ingredient into/over a steamy hot pot. That's where it picks up the moisture from. If you take the shaker top off and use a spoon to dish it out into the pot, you'll find your onion powder stays soft. Or just pour it into your palm and put in pot.

David... I came on here to say I had an aunt that used to put rice in the salt and I wondered if that would work for this too. You beat me to it! I just ran to the kitchen (what other forum would have is members running to the kitchen at almost 11 pm to read their bottle of onion powder?) to see if mine had any ingredients to "make free flowing". The onion powder and garlic do not, but the lemon pepper does.

Mine never gets hard, though I've had other spices that have and I've had to dig around with a knife to get it loose.

The problem with using fresh in the spice blends is that you then have a product that needs freezing, or refrigeration if you make more than you need for the one recipe. I never use the powders in regular cooking so they aren't getting damp and steamy over a pot!

I never use onion powder so am not familiar with the problem. I do keep onion flakes and they never clump. Perhaps you could sub with these or pulverize them as you need them. I use the dry onion when I'm in a hurry or just run out of onions which happens often no matter how much I buy. The silica packets also sound like an excellent solution.

Once your onion powder has turned into an onion rock, you can whack it with a hammer or cleaver and then put the chunks into a spice grinder or mini food processor to be able to use it.

Jim, I tend to prefer fresh as well, but, there are things for which the dried onion or garlic powder are preferable. For example, if I am making a last minute salad dressing, fresh onion or garlic can be too "hot". I also prefer them for dry rubs, in preparation for the barbecue or rotisserie.

Wacking it is exactly what it needs, the problem is getting it out of the jar! I never use a knife, don't want to ruin or break the point on a paring knife. I usually use a screwdriver, believe it or not. It's narrow enough to fit in the jar and thick enough not to bend or break. Once I get some out it usually pulverises with no problem.

Onion flakes could also be a good idea.

My onion powder hardens the same as everyone (almost) else's. But my garlic powder doesn't - because I keep it in the freezer. Works like a champ. But it doesn't work for onion powder. And the funny thing is that the expiration date on my latest bottle of onion powder is 2 years from now.

If anyone still wants to know, you can add a dried bean or two to the shaker. Or so I hear. I have the same problem and had checked around.

If you combine it with dried parsley or chive (or some other dried herb of your choice), it will cling to the herb and be less likely to form a hard clump. I only use it when I make Cajun seasoning, and once it is mixed with the herbs in that, it does not get hard.

Lars.

I don't have onion powder but I bought some shallot salt from Penzey's and returned it when it turned to stone. The next one did the same thing. Finally, I gave up.
\ Annie

I was reading through these and was thinking "mine never hardens" then I saw a post by coconut that said that most people shake it above a pot of steaming food and then I realized why mine does not get hard, I don't do that! I just take a spoon and spoon it out and I'm usually standing over the counter. Try that, see if that keeps the onion powder from hardening.

I use quite a bit of onion powder. Enough to run out of it. Now, when I need some, I just grind some dehydrated onion flakes in the mortar & pestle. The flakes grind really easily. One less container to store by not buying more.

Onion powder is nice in seasoned flour when you dredge meats...that & refried beans are my main two uses for it.

I saw this thread and thought Granjan was back for a moment.

When my onion powder clumps up, I don't throw it away.
I poke at the container with something sharp and throw
those broken pieces in my next batch of soup, they
disolve.

Has anyone tried the 'cover opening with a paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds or more'? My chili powder is clumped and I'm fairly certain I shook out some over a steaming pot.

Lindac, unfortunatley, I WOULD notice the difference if garlic powder was used instead of onion powder, as I am allergic to garlic.

I bought new onion powder from the bulk food store a few months ago, in a plastic lidded container,and it was hard the second time I tried to use it, after having used a spoon, not shaking it over the pot. I don't know how to fix it.

Tami

Just put a teaspoon of raw rice in each shaker. The rice helps absorb the moisture.
I have recently seen this tip posted in one of the sites.

I know when I lived in Hawaii the rice trick was used to keep things flowing - sugar, salt, etc.

I just tried microwaving as janicedallas and other websites suggest. After 30-60 seconds, It did soften the garlic "rock" enough to get it out of the jar. What came out looked like garlic paste, but much thicker and goey. So I microwaved the paste for a couple minutes more. Big mistake. Kitchen now filled with overwhelming garlic smell and bowl with past is smoking. Well not quite burnt, but some vapors coming off that are so strong I can't breathe in the kitchen. So beware.

I'll try the rice trick when I get a fresh batch and try to remember to report back. Or I've been saving those little silica gel packets, knowing I'll have a use for them someday. Now if I can find them...

BTW, I have the hardening problem with both powder and salt versions of both garlic and onion. I don't think I hold the jars over steaming sauces, and while some spices are over the stove, these aren't. so I suspect normal humidity sneaks into the jars, even though I keep the lids tight. They are used jars (I buy spices in bulk, and ounce or so at a time). Maybe I'll try some kind of jar with a really good seal--maybe a canning jar & lid? Or one of those containers for coffee that sucks the air out.

One last note. I've tried grinding the garlic/onion "rocks" in a blender. It's messy but it works--I get a nice powder. But within a short time it is rock again. I even tried warming the ground powder gently to drive out any moisture--it still hardens.

Every time I use my onion powder, I always think about this thread...HA! It is NEVER hard. I'm not sure why. I keep it in the cabinet in it's original packaging and I don't ever shake it over a pot of hot steamy food.

I have started using onion powder when making bread and have found it a good way to use up a container before it can get hard. I tried using fresh onion in bread, and that did not work very well until I pureed the fresh onion in water, but I find the onion powder a more convenient (and totally acceptable) way of getting onion flavor into bread. I also like to sprinkle onion powder onto cracker dough before I bake it.

My problem with powders now is tomato powder, and I found a tomato powder mixed with salt that does not get hard, but I really would prefer it without salt.

Lars

We have this problem with garlic SALT. (Garlic powder and onion powder usually don't have this problem because I use them up quickly. Not so, with garlic salt.)

Hubby takes an ice pick and pokes at it until it powders-up again. Next time I get a silica pack, I'll give it a try. Thanks!

Donna

I keep it in the freezer along with Tones gravy powder. We don't have air conditioning and everything in the summer suffers if I don't take care of stuff.

Having had the problem of spice powders hardening up I finally came up with this Idea which has worked well for the past 4 months,

1 Get an empty effervescent vitamin tube.

2 Remove the top.

3. With
   a clean scalpel or sharp knife remove the soft spring.

4 Next
carefully cut of the top rim

5 Discard
spring and top rim and wipe the remaining part containing the silica gel.

6 Ensure
that you have reconstituted your spice powder buy breaking up any lumps that
may have formed.

7 Pop the little
cartridge into your spice container. Job done. . .

Happy
sprinkling.

(I have step by step pics of procedure but file is to big to include here.)

I just keep my onion powder, garlic powder and gravy mixes in the freezer. My DH bought 5# of garlic powder from a bulk food place about 5 years ago. (Don't ask.) It is still fine but sure wouldn't be if it wasn't kept in the freezer.

I don't have the problem but I'm wondering if the jar is the issue. What if you put it in a glass jar with a tight sealing lid and maybe even vacuum sealing it?

In truth never had a problem with onion powder the biggest culprit was Garlic powder, Have even tried the freezer trick to no avail, Have even tried one glass jar inside another both with rubber seals no luck there either, the 'silica gel cartridge' is the only thing that has worked with certainty.

Just buy when I need, although it' maybe inconvenient but fresh!

I know this is an old post but still important me thinks. My recent purchase of tomato powder came in a foil pouch with a silica pack inside. I now know why. I've not had anything harden but some coconut palm sugar that is much like a brown sugar.

I buy spices in bulk and keep in the fridge or freezer. Smaller glass containers in the pantry...re-fill when needed. Making my summer spice rub mixes today for the summer. I just make about 8 oz at a time and fridge it.

We have had so much rain recently and it is so hot and humid i have the AC on today. I could use a 5 gallon pail of silica downstairs. (i have a dehumidifier running 24-7) Some kitty litters use silica but i.m guessing it also has some perfume stink added? My garage cement floor is damp and that rarely happens.

I see food grade packets for sale on amazon but a bit expensive. Probably could get food grade and make my own?. Would be nice if they came in pucks with stick-um tabs to stick to the inside lid of spices....

Great idea to stick the packets to the lids. I bet Glue Dots would work for stick-um tabs. You could make your own, but is your time really worth it? And do you know the permeability and food safety of what you'd wrap them in? When you're in the City you might try looking at a restaurant supply house or a food packing supplier. It might cost half as much as Amazon.

The freezer is only going to help with these things if they're in moisture proof containers and you haven't already let moist air in. Small quantities are a better bet if the silica doesn't work.

I don't actually want to take the time to make them. I just wish someone with more time would do such a thing. Like the kerig coffee 'fill your own' things.

I did see some good uses for the packets when 'googling' like place in winter boots in storage, or for a cell phone that falls into water....or old books and documents. Museums use them in periodical drawers.

One guy used it in a car he had in storage but the container filled with 'wet' and the bucket burst making a mess.

I have a bag somewhere from a time ago when i needed to dry some tiny flowers quickly. Just now realizing what that was....been some time. It is in some potting soils to hold moisture for root development in drier climates.

Said to be great to extend the life of razor blades if you want to add another moment to the morning shower routine. Put your razor in a container with a silica pack.

And they can be dried out and used again if become water-filled.

Is it not used in diapers also? DH has them in his musical instrument cases.

I think it is used everywhere.

I grow my own onions each year and am looking for ways to preserve them for the winter. I already have frozen chopped onions too. I dehydrate in rings and use my spice grinder when I want onion powder. I have tried adding raw rice, raw beans, parsley, chives and even salt. Always turns rock hard within a month. Now I just grind as I go. I think I will try those little silica packs in the vitamin bottles. Does anyone know if it make the onions smell like the vitamin bottle it came out of?

It would be difficult to believe any kind of supplement would be able to "trump" the odor of onions. You can purchase new moisture absorbers if you are concerned with any influence of odors from recycling them from supplements.

I dehydrate tomato skins to use as tomato powder, and they work best drying and storing whole in a jar like you do your onions. Then making into a powder in a coffee/spice mill - as needed. The dried onions and tomato skins, once powdered, don't have any ingredients in them that keep them free-flowing, so making it in small amounts saves a lot of rock-hard powder.

Same thing here! Thought of rice, but the container wholes are too big, the holes will let rice through. Someone said they use a dried bean or two to solve this, someone else said they use unpopped popcorn. I'll give it a whirl!

Grainlady... every time I toss one of those annoying desiccants (is that what they're called?) I think there MUST be something to do with them. Now know something they're good for.

On other side... brown sugar that gets as hard as a rock from being stored in a less than air-tight container... like left in the plastic bag, with maybe a rubber band around it... you KNOW you've done that. A slice of apple or slice of fresh bread in a T-ware container will soften it up pretty much over night.

Just keep it in the frig. Problem solved.

Hi all, I found this works for garlic salt. I put the class jar it came in a 600w microwave for 30 seconds,this allowed me to then dig it out into a bowl,then I put the bowl in the microwave for 1 minute,after this I let it stand for another minute then used the back of a spoon and the bowl like a P+m to break up the dried lumps. Works really well,I was worried the jar might shatter and that why I only put it in for 30 seconds.

I recently put my glass jar of concrete garlic powder into the oven (lid off) when I'd turned it off after baking something. Let it sit in there until the oven cooled and then broke up the now re-dried powder in the jar and put the lid back on. I also put some plastic wrap on the top of the jar before adding the lid...thinking it might act a bit like a seal. We'll see.

My packet of tomato powder (nothing on it about refrigerating once opened) hardened up too. I put the powder in an uncovered container and put it in the freezer for 15-20 mins. Freezers are notoriously dry, so the moisture in the powder was drawn out. When I took the jar out of the freezer, I used a teaspoon to easily crush the lumps back into a powder. I then put the powder into a sealed jar, which now lives in my fridge.

Granulated garlic (if you can find it) doesn't clump up like garlic powder does.

I suspect i use my garlic powder so much it never gets the chance to clump...

Unlike sugar. I resorted to buying teaspoon packets of sugar for friends dropping by who want to add sugar to coffee. The balance of those sugar packets turned into rocks! Perhaps I should buy those little sugar cubes?

I live on the ocean well across the street from it so many of my spices do this

what can I do?

Put a few grain of instant rice into each container...it will absorb the moisture.

I usually just stab the clump with a chopstick but I like the idea of instant rice to absorb the moisture.

I live across the street from the beach, too, lucky. For small jars like spices I just whack them on the counter a few times (wouldn't use the counter if it were stone, but I have formica). For larger items, like sugar, I just stir it up. Chopstick is a good idea, actually. Thanks, jerzeegirl.

My first wife is kibitzing as I lurk here and she says at her parents mom and pop restaurant they put a saltine in the onion powder.

Old post 2008, yet moisture is always trouble in humid climates, even our pantry in the winter months in the past.

I learned from Grainlady to use the silica desiccant packets from pill bottles. I leave them with the pills and bought some on Amazon. 3 gram and 10 gram. Very cheap. I think it was under 10$ for a hundred 3 gram and under 10$ for sixty 10 gram.

Our home gets very humid Spring and Fall with all the rain. Very few spices need it but so many other used for both sizes. Winter stored boots, equipment cases, camera cases, my garden seed case and crate, sewing machine (seldom used) but has a protective case/lid...battery/ junk drawer, etc.

A cracker is interesting and I'm sure fine for short term big turnover eye-on-it product. But long term might cause more trouble than it is worth. Absorbs too much moisture, then gets moldy.

I store my garlic and onion powder jars in the freezer. It stays powdery until you consume it. Try it, I've never had to throw out any since then.