Worcestershire Powder hardening


 
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Rita Y

TVWBB Emerald Member
Worcestershire powder is notorious for hardening in a jar. Mine even hardens in a vacuumed Mason jar.

Anyone know if there might be some kind of small antidessicant packets that we could put into the jar to avoid this? Perhaps some that could be rejuvenated in a warm oven? Would they actually keep the powder from hardening?

Other ideas?

Rita
 
Guffaw here!
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Am I looking for an anti-dessicant or a dessicant????? I think I was thinking about my shrubbery!

Rusty, growing up on humid Long Island, I remember my mother always adding rice to the salt shaker. I'm not sure if it really absorbed moisture or if the rice grains helped break up the clotted salt when we shook the shaker.
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It's worth trying, tho. I've seen rice used in shakers in a couple of restaurants in the Atlanta area in the last year or so. Can't say that they were white-tablecloth restaurants.
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I heard about the slice of bread in conjunction to brown sugar, to keep it moist enough to keep it from clumping. Maybe another use for it?

Rita
 
Thanks for the heads up. I purchased some for the first time around easter. I haven't touched it yet but noticed it did seem to be picking up some moisture. I'm thinking I better get it into a better container.

Rita, do you have any tips or recipes for using it? I bought it with good intentions, but haven't started experimenting with it yet.

I suppose it might be a good thing it hardens, when the powder gets airborne, its lethal!
 
Rita, don't know if this is safe or not but I put those little packets of dessicant you find in boxes in my onion powder and no more caking. Just be sure you don't serve one by accident
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J, I've just started playing with it. I want to use it in a rub for beef. I have a couple of things that I'm running around in my head but haven't tried them yet. Here are some ideas for you:

Use for dry seasoning blends, snacks, meat items, dips, barbecue sauce, jerky, Bloody Mary mix, jerky, stews, soups, chilis and casseroles, dressings, marinades, sprinkle for meats, add flavor to stir-fry dishes.

Resconstitution: For Worcestershire sauce prepare by weight:
20% Worcestershire powder, 30% vinegar (100 grain), 50% water
OR use 1 oz per cup of water to make Worcestershire sauce.

Paul, they have those little packets in Hormel sliced pepperoni too. Cleaned off, they might work in the Worcestershire powder---just don't wash them! I emailed World Spice about this to see if they had any tips but haven't received an answer yet. I have mine FoodSavered in an 8-ounce Mason jar and it still firmed up but was crushable and dissolved in liquid.

Rita
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Use for dry seasoning blends </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks Rita. My Intentions were to try it in some rubs. Any guess as to how much would be appropriate per cup of rub?
 
Re-grind it. Taste. Replace if necessary.

Rice won't really cut it. You need a good desiccant. (Try here. Get the SG-1 or SG-2, depending on size. I get the '1' and simply double-up if necessary.) Suitable desiccants can be re-charged so replace with fresh when needed and re-charge the pack(s) you remove--don't pitch them.
 
Try silicon dioxide(sand) purchased from a spice company. Limit the amount to no more than 2% of the total mixture amount. A friend in the spice biz told me some commercial rubs contain it to keep their mixtures from clumping. It WILL NOT keep it dry or pull moisture out of the mixture.
 
I love it when the old threads from TVWBB pop up on my searches :-)

So just to revive the thread, give it a bump:

I bought woostie powder over a year ago from World Spice in Seattlle, WA. I really enjoyed using it dry to enhance steaks and the like, adding
to rubs, marinades and brines.

But alas as other warned me back then - turned into woostie rock candy in the jar and in the reserve (vac sealed) bag.

I did break it back down awhile back. This time though it was literally like a rock. I put it in heavy plastic bags and nailed it good with a
mallet only to have smaller rocks. There was no way I was going to take this and feed it through any of the processors I have.

This version from World Spice was almost identical to me to L&P. So - I just took all the "gravel" dumped in a small sauce pan and added water just
to cover and melted it down to a syrup. It's now about a 200% strenth. Leaving that way to use it up in recipes that call for regular L&P, Frenches, etc.

This one has all similar notes though. I can taste the vinegar, pepper, other spices in it, etc. So all good. Just can't use it in powder form.

Once this is gone I'll order again and keep it in a seperate vac seal bag with a couple dessicant packets. Won't bother trying to keep it in a jar.

It is handy to have an I enjoyed using it.

If you are buying it just to save on buying gallon sizes of say L&P, Frenches - this one from World Spice was really good IMHO. I would just buy it and
mix it up into liquid form (gallon jogs, quart bottles etc) and no need to worry about keeping it in powder form.
 
You could use those little packets that come in boxes that hold electronics to keep them dry. I keep a bag in with my onion powder and garlic powder. Works like a charm.
 
Rita,

Popcorn (un popped regular - not the microwave kind) makes an excellent food grade desiccant. Just put a few kernels in with your powder and seal tightly. Make sure to use a lid that has holes smaller than the popcorn or you will be picking popcorn out of whatever you sprinkle it in. I use popcorn to keep my brown sugar based pig rub from clumping up and it works great.

Regards,

John
 
No kidding - I suppose that'd work in plain brown sugar too? (and other applications???) My brown sugar always clumps up......I'll have to give this a shot.
 
Clint said:
No kidding - I suppose that'd work in plain brown sugar too? (and other applications???) My brown sugar always clumps up......I'll have to give this a shot.
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It does. When I make my pork rub, I spread the brown sugar out on a cookie sheet and dry it in the oven at low temp. I then measure it and use if for the rub and add the popcorn. I cooked a butt a few weeks ago and grabbed my pork rub from the cabinet (I made it about four months ago) and it was dry as a bone - no clumps at all...

Regards,

John
 
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