Cookaholics Bulletin Board

All,

As you know, I live in a very humid place (humidity in the apt regularly 60-75%). So I'm used to having powdered spices cake up on me. I don't bother keeping granulated garlic; it's a complete loss.

What's wierd, however, is that the cayenne pepper doesn't just cake up ... it gets moldy. As in turns grey and fuzzy. This doesn't happen to any other ground chili pepper I've had. Anyone experienced this?

That has never happened to me. Of course, I have had central air for over 10 years so our humidity is usually between 30 and 40%. But I don't remember that happening even when we had high temps and high humidity.

That is really odd, I can't amagine it getting moldy. Have you tried keeping it in the freezer in an air tight container. Or change it's location in the kitchen and see if that makes a difference.

Laurie

Laurie,

Well, since I still have 200g of Calabrian hot pepper ... which doesn't seem to have the mold issue ... I've just decided not to buy cayenne again. It's still odd, though; it's stored right next to all the other ground chili peppers.

I couldn't live without Cayenne, I use it often. I wonder if your source is the issue. Could there posibly be mold spores in it before purchase? Would freezing it for a few days kill any mold spores? Then put it in the spice cupboard. Just a thought.

Fuzzy,
Do you think, by any chance, you shook the open bottle on top of the food that was being cooked?
Living in a place of high humidity, I have to be very careful to always place the seasonings on the palm of my hand, or on a little bowl, before seasoning the food I am cooking.
That same thing happened to me before so I don't take any chances.

Wallflour,

That's certainly possible. It's a good tip for our spices in general.

However, this has happened with the cayenne twice, so I don't think it's *just* that.

I have never had this happen with any of my ground peppers, but then, I don't live in a very humid area (except for certain days!).

Do you buy your cayenne locally, from a bulk food type spice shop, or mail order, from Penzey's, or somewhere like that? If you get it locally, and they have had it exposed, it may be "moist" already. I have never had a problem with Penzey's or Pendery's, as their spices are in sealed bags.

If you are buying yours locally, you may want to try this: Weigh the cayenne, then spread it out on a sheet and dry it out in your oven (if you don't have a pilot light [you could dry it in a couple of days with that]set it at its lowest). When it seems the cayenne is no longer losing weight, see how much weight it lost, and see what % it was. It should not have been much over 6-8%.

And here's something I save for keeping in things to prevent them from absorbing moisture - those little silica gel packets that come in electronic things and the like. It's not something that is dangerous, and it is re-usable - just dry them out in the oven after a while. I tie them up in a little piece of cheesecloth, though that probably isn't really necessary.

Fuzzy,
I'd look at either the source or the handling. I live in an area of much higher humidity (right now it's 97%) and I've never had that happen with ground chilis, or any type of spice for that matter.

I hear you about the granulated garlic. Powdered or granulated onion & garlic turn into a rock in the bottom of the jar real fast. I've just completely given up on them.

Look on the bright side - high humidity is great for your skin & complexion. Desert air will age you much more quickly!

Yeah, but I only sweat when I exert myself...