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Humidity is the number 1 enemy when it comes to popcorn seasonings! It causes them to clump up and become annoying to use, Which in turn prevents you from having delicious popcorn! Don’t you hate it when you go to grab some awesome seasoning only for it to be as hard as a rock? We’ve got a solution for you!
There aren’t very many ways to reclaim popcorn seasoning once it becomes caked and hard. Unfortunately, it’s easier to just replace it. You could try and chisel it, but really is it worth it? It’s easier to just prevent it in the first place instead, so let’s dive in.
How to stop popcorn seasoning from clumping
Tip 1:
Don’t shake directly over the popcorn. I know it’s NOT intuitive but all that hot steam coming up from your delicious kernels is water vapor. As you know, water vapor is bad! It makes your seasoning clump even faster than if it was just sitting in the pantry.
So use an alternative method for placing it on your popcorn, Or simply wait for the popcorn to cool down a little bit and stop putting off so much steam.
Tip 2:
Don’t keep it in the container it came in at the store. These cheap mass-produced plastic containers are not airtight. The only thing that made them airtight in the first place was the seal you had to break off to get to your seasoning.
Try placed it into a glass shaker with a screw-on cover instead. Something that would be used to keep spices dry. This will extend the shelf life of your popcorn seasoning by a lot vs those plastic containers.
Tip 3:
If you live in an area prone to high humidity, one of the best things you can do to improve the life of your seasonings and all your other food is to add a dehumidifier into your pantry. It doesn’t need to be a fancy electric dehumidifier either, A simple humidity trap or moisture absorbent built for pantries will work just fine.
But that requires you to change them every x amount of weeks or months. So a small dedicated electric dehumidifier specifically built for a pantry is your best option for this. They will make quick work of any humidity as they are often far more powerful than what is required for such a small space!
Don’t have extra plugs? Don’t worry. There are devices like the eva-dry that will last up to 10 years and don’t require any batteries or plugs. Check it out
Tip 4:
We already wrote an article about a similar problem salt faces. You can read it here. One of the solutions to that problem was adding rice or beans to your salt shaker. The same will work here for popcorn seasoning.
Simply place a few grains of non-instant rice or a few dried beans. These are more absorbent than salty seasonings and will take all the water in its place, Keeping your seasoning clump-free.
Just avoid brown rice as it contains natural plant-based oils. These will spoil and go rancid fairly quickly, destroying your popcorn seasoning.
Should I keep popcorn salt and seasoning in my refrigerator?
You would think this is a great idea to keep it fresh and humidity down, But actually, it’s not a great thing to do.
You shouldn’t store popcorn salt or seasoning in the fridge, it will absorb the tastes and flavors of everything else very quickly. A fridge also tends to be more humid than a pantry just because of the amount of fresh produce and liquids that are in the fridge.
This includes various forms of condensation. Every time you open up the fridge door, Micro amounts of condensation will form inside the fridge. Your salty seasoning will absorb that in as fast as it’s produced!
Really, the only time this isn’t the case is if you live somewhere like Florida. When the humidity level outside the fridge is heavier than that of inside the fridge. But still, your better off following tip #3 and just making your pantry more humidity proof.
This can include caulking cracks and paining the interior of the pantry with an oil based pain.
Bottom line:
It’s hard or near impossible to reclaim caked and hardened seasoning. So instead of trying, you should replace it and impliment mesures to avoid it in the first place.
These include replacing the default packaging it came in with sturdy airtight glass containers. Adding dehumidifiers to your pantry where you store your seasoning salts. Add rice or beans to the shaker to help absorb the excess moisture, and don’t pour your seasoning when popcorn is still steaming, as it floods the container with more water.
