What can be used besides rice to keep moisture out of salt?

Question

Often, rice is in salt dispensers to prevent moisture from making the salt become clumpy and possibly get stuck in a shaker.

What else can be used to get the same effect?

Rice works very well for this. That's why we see it so often. Being larger than grains of salt it does not fall on your plate. Do you have a rice allergy, therefore not wanting to use rice? I don't see how this is a hack request. — subjectivist, Mar 08 '15 at 18:44
Well no I don't, but the rice does fall out of our dispensers. — Maverick283, Mar 08 '15 at 18:46
This happens occasionally because rice is reused or breaks over time. When replacing salt in the shaker the rice should always be replaced, too. Old rice fragments and turns to powder. Maybe we can reword this into a better hack request. — subjectivist, Mar 08 '15 at 18:47
Yes it does but ours are some homemade ones we bought and we'd really like to keep them. And as I didn't really want a discussion about rice but rather what alternatives there are to it I put the question that way ;) — Maverick283, Mar 08 '15 at 18:49
I read that rice does not act as a desiccant, but rather mechanically breaks the clumps. — Random832, Mar 11 '15 at 16:59
@Random832 Maybe in this case, but rice definitely works well as a dessicant. — Parthian Shot, Mar 25 '15 at 22:40
I vote for those little bags of silica gel. Sure, there'll be a few deaths here and there, but think of the savings! — Parthian Shot, Mar 25 '15 at 22:43
@ParthianShot Actually not a bad idea... After all they do put desiccant packets of some kind (I think it is silica sometimes) in vitamins and medications. — L.B., Aug 24 '16 at 15:33
The silicon gel suggestion gave me the idea of filling a small coffee filter/tea bag with salt and putting that in the shaker. Haven't tried or tested it, just a thought. — greenglass, Aug 25 '16 at 11:40
@ParthianShot Silica gel is not toxic and an ideal use for this! (https://www.thoughtco.com/are-silica-gel-beads-poisonous-608408). You may need to dry the little packets out again if you've already used them, which is easy (http://qqjky.qjhbf.servertrust.com/v/vspfiles/info/Silica%20Gel.pdf) — walbuc, Jun 14 '17 at 13:43

score 13 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 11 '15 at 17:01

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I don't know if the mechanism (for either rice or anything else) is actually a desiccant or mechanical action for breaking the clumps after they form, but I have seen movie theaters (where they are obviously in abundant supply) using popcorn kernels for this purpose.

answered Mar 11 '15 at 17:01

Random832

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for a few seconds there, I thought you were making a joke about the salt content of movie popcorn... good answer either way. – Nick Morgan Aug 26 '15 at 19:49

score 8 · Answer 2 · edited Mar 13 '15 at 11:11

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You can use coffee beans instead of rice grains, it works the same but they are bigger.

And no, it won't pick up the coffee flavor. It's a very common thing in Argentinean restaurants. I've never felt, after using salt from the table, that my food tastes like coffee.

edited Mar 13 '15 at 11:11

Mooseman

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answered Mar 12 '15 at 06:22

gfa

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I'd imagine the salt may pick up the coffee flavor to some extent. Can you confirm one way or the other? – Mooseman Mar 13 '15 at 01:42
no, i won't pick up the coffee flavor. is a very common thing in argentinean restaurants, i never feel, after using salt from the table, that my food taste like coffe. – gfa Mar 13 '15 at 06:42
That's good to know. I've added it to your answer and given you an upvote. :) – Mooseman Mar 13 '15 at 11:10

score 6 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 21 '15 at 10:21

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Crackers (or pieces thereof) can serve as an alternative desiccant. I've used saltine's with success.

edited Apr 21 '15 at 10:21

Alex

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answered Mar 09 '15 at 02:32

Minnow

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I see one problem with this. Saltines break very easily, so couldn't pieces of cracker come out with the salt? – michaelpri Mar 09 '15 at 02:46
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Unless you apply the salt particularly vigorously this shouldn't be a problem. At least in my experience the cracker pieces don't deteriorate appreciably. I suppose if you used salted crackers, you might actually gain some salt. – Minnow Mar 09 '15 at 16:05
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If you use crackers, make sure you warn everyone who uses that salt that it contains gluten. – Mar 16 '15 at 00:23
Crackers works great! I've been using them for many years. – RHaguiuda Jul 10 '15 at 19:07
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@user4520 And here I thought "gluten free salt" was just a marketing gimmick! – Michael Jul 20 '15 at 21:48

score 4 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 28 '16 at 21:16

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Growing up my Mom had a salt shaker that came with a glass "cap" kind of that had some kind of purple granules in it. Have no idea what they are but it works. I have them now but don't use them. The salt is still dry as a bone.

answered Feb 28 '16 at 21:16

Hope

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do you think you could post a picture of the glass cap with purple granules? That might help improve this answer. – Adam Feb 28 '16 at 22:16
Welcome to the site Hope! It's nice to meet you! Those purple granules sound interesting, and I've never heard of them before. Since you still have them, might you be able to post a picture showing us that part of the cap? If not, maybe you could look for a brand name somewhere on the bottle and share a link to it. Feel free to let us know if you need help with anything about the site or how to use it! – Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL Feb 28 '16 at 22:16
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@Adam It looks like we posted comments at the same time. I didn't mean to repeat what you said! – Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL Feb 28 '16 at 22:19
Upvoted because it's so deliciously vague and intriguing. I'm hoping eventually this answer becomes popular enough that some intrepid Ponce de Leon tilts at this windmill and devotes their entire life to finding the Purple Granules of Lore. – Parthian Shot Aug 24 '16 at 20:07

score 4 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 09 '15 at 02:15

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You can use dried parsley leaves to prevent moisture. Fill up 1/4 of the shaker and then put in the salt. You can also put in toothpicks, which will have the same effect. I prefer broken ones, but they have to be cleanly broken. One last method I know of is to use dry beans. I've done it with black beans, but I believe other types will work too.

answered Mar 09 '15 at 02:15

michaelpri

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I'd like to try the beans strategy! – Minnow Mar 09 '15 at 16:07

score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 01 '16 at 17:18

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I've used a couple of dried beans (pinto, black, white) with good results. They're hygroscopic, just like uncooked rice. I get no clumps.

I doubt those will fall through your shaker! :)

answered Mar 01 '16 at 17:18

D__STreet

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score 2 · Answer 7 · answered Mar 02 '16 at 00:32

We use orzo. It's a kind of pasta which is shaped like a slightly flattened grain of rice. It is a little longer than long-grain rice, and more importantly it is notably wider than a grain of rice, so it should not come out of your salt shaker accidentally. It is cheap, lasts forever, and available in multi-color which can be decorative if you have a clear salt shaker.

score 1 · Answer 8 · edited Aug 24 '16 at 12:25

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Now included with many medication containers of tablets that might attract moisture is a small hard silica plastic like barrel about 1/2 inch (~1cm) long, in the container. It is a desiccant and is safe and does not breakdown. This could be used in the salt container.

edited Aug 24 '16 at 12:25

WBT

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answered Aug 23 '16 at 13:55

pete

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score 1 · Answer 9 · answered Oct 04 '16 at 06:36

My first salt grinder, a Peugeot, clogged up just a few weeks after purchase. It still had the salt that came with the grinder.

I placed it in a narrow cup-like plastic container, not much wider than the grinder itself and inside the container I placed a couple of unopened sachets of silica gel. It seems to have cleared out the clogging to a large extent.

I suppose you could also fill such a narrow container with some rice and store the mill in it. The rice/silica gel gets to do its work effectively because it's right next to the grinder mechanism and there's no chance of getting any in your food.

score 1 · Answer 10 · answered Jun 07 '17 at 04:49

Salt absorbs moisture so at humid times this problem can occur. Alternatives to rice could be millet or quinoa or other grains large enough to not fall through the holes for the salt.

A study on water absorption characteristics of the selected cereal grains was conducted. It was found that well dried maize, sorghum and millet grains take about 96, 48 and 24 h, respectively, to reach their water absorption capacities (water absorption saturations). Millet had the highest rate of water absorption as well as the total water absorbed. The rate of water absorption in sorghum was higher than in maize but maize grains imbibed more water than sorghum.

score 1 · Answer 11 · answered Mar 08 '15 at 18:55

I suggest getting large-grain rice that is big enough not to fall through the holes in the shaker. I did a Google search for "large grain rice" and found many entries. This may be slightly more expensive, but purchasing a bag of it should last a long time.

score 1 · Answer 12 · answered Mar 14 '15 at 23:17

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Sometimes you get little packages of silica gel when you get some new electrical ~~toy~~ tool, I do believe this can be used to keep salt dry. Haven't tried it myself though.

answered Mar 14 '15 at 23:17

holroy

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I don't think that'd be too healthy to be honest :/ – Maverick283 Mar 15 '15 at 08:11
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Even though the small packets are marked "Do no eat", it is allowed as a food additive, see wikipedia and GRAS Notice – holroy Mar 15 '15 at 08:59

score 0 · Answer 13 · answered Feb 28 '19 at 10:32

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I usually use wild rice because of the longer grain size. I have also used uncooked spaghetti noodles when out of rice. Just break a couple of noodles into pieces 1/2 to 1 inch on size and add to salt shaker.

answered Feb 28 '19 at 10:32

Tracy R

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score 0 · Answer 14 · answered Mar 11 '19 at 13:13

This question has an answer that's totally different, but I find it works quite well: place salt and other clumping spices in a sealed box or bag with a cheap calcium chloride dehumidifier packed/box. You can't use silica, because it reaches equilibrium and stops doing anything, while calcium chloride will work for a while even after it has totally liquified. The effect is strong enough that it will restore a salt shaker that has already clumped. The obvious disadvantage is that it's annoying to store your salt in a sealed container, but you could probably get away with keeping the salt in there two days out of each week.

score -1 · Answer 15 · edited Apr 30 '15 at 06:42

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Putting in some cloves in salt container prevents the salt from dampening and becoming clumpy

edited Apr 30 '15 at 06:42

Alex

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answered Apr 29 '15 at 21:21

Ejaz

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What can be used besides rice to keep moisture out of salt?

15 Answers15