What Happens if You Eat One of Those Silica Gel Packets?

We’re betting they taste pretty dry.

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Most desiccant packs contain either silica gel (sand, more or less) or porous clay. Neither would be delicious, but they wouldn’t be harmful.

Silica gel is not toxic. That’s why it’s used in food packaging. Those packets are found in all kinds of packaged foods from Asia. Especially in things that need to stay crispy like chips and crackers. It can be an...

Hmm.... I have done some searching about and it appears that the relative humidity for where I live is usually between 70 and 90 throughout the year. So maybe I need to consider slight de-humidification! Silica gel here we go....

I accelerate the drying process by bringing down the humidity in the refrigerator. I do this by using silica gel and a small electric fan in the botttom of the refrigerator. Yes you do need to have a spare fridge for this, but it...

Rumford. I tuck a paper silica gel pack in the can, because it degrades over time due to humidity.

to fit in a regular fridge, but you might be able to achieve a similar effect using a desiccant like silica gel (you don’t want it to come in contact with the meat). You would need some type of hygrometer with a remote...

In the SF area there are pyracantha shrubs everywhere. They bear little red berries in the fall and winter. The birds gorge themselves on them, but as a kid I was always told they were poisonous to humans. It turns out that a)...

How do you preserve garlic like the jars of whole and minced garlic found at the local grocery store? • Do you dehydrate it and store it with silica gel? • Do you peel it and store it in the freezer? • Do you pickle it in vinegar...

worked very well (salt, silica gel, antifreeze). But you live in the Bay Area, right? Mid fall through early summer is perfect salumi weather. In fact, even with the recent hot spell I had no trouble making a couple of slabs of...

My first thoughts run to food poisoning rather than to packing issues. Baggage can sit on the tarmac for a long time before being loaded, and that assumes that the bag is actually loaded onto the correct plane! Also, hopefully...

traditional apple pie contribution. I’ve got my apple pie recipe down, but I’m concerned about processing it to be shelf-stable and not poisoning my loved ones. I’ve got standard canning instructions for high...

.g., Wusthof – are using a stainless formulation that’s soft enough to allow resharpening. My experience has been that steel wool won’t really scratch the stainless that’s used for pots and pans, but the...

time, try putting some rolled paper towels in there to absorb humidity. Better yet, a paper towel wrapped silica gel paper package, such as comes as a drying agent in bags of nori or shiitake. They can be microwaved to renew...