As a cook, I'm constantly playing with seasonings and spices and I've got both a steak seasoning and a fajita seasoning I've come up with. I've had many friends and family ask me for some, so I bought some plastic spice jars with lids and pressure sensitive seals and started packaging it. The steak seasoning does fine, but the fajita seasoning tends to clump somewhat over time.......probably because of the garlic and chili powder. Anyway, what would the experts on here use as an anti-caking agent that won't change the flavor of the seasoning and wouldn't decrease shelf life? If I can solve this problem, I might consider taking them to market on a small scale. Thanks in advance for any input.

Rojo - before you try anti-caking additives you should look at your ingredients. The most common cause of caking in spice blends is the dehydrated garlic and onion. Are you using granulated or powered garlic and onion? Also the particle size of the pepper and salt might make a difference.

like this guys knows anything about spices or seasonings....

I am using garlic powder and coarse black pepper. You say it makes a difference in the particle size of the pepper?

Is the garlic powder like flour or more like salt in texture. Retail garlic powder tends to be granulated and food service tends to be powdered. It is not clear which you are using.

Is your black pepper sifted to a uniform size of coarse? The closer in particle size your ingredients are the better they will stay homogeneous when blended.

Good information. Garlic powder is granulated and the black pepper is coarse.

Mike,

Is y'all's "Garlic Powder" really granulated garlic even though the label says "garlic powder"? I understand that the difference is really only the size of the granules but I was wonder which yours really is...

Ag83 -

Retail garlic powder is almost always granulated. That is by custom from way before my time. When you get to a club or food service outlet, you can find both granulated and powdered. They have different usages in industry. They are both from the same dehydrated garlic and the only difference is the sift size. The flavor per weight is the same.

Both dehydrated garlic and onions are very hydroscopic and reabsorb moisture from the air until used, causing clumping and hardness. This is why they need to be tightly capped at all times. Sprinkling it from the jar over a hot, moist stove is not optimal.

There is one other form of dehydrated garlic that is found in many low end products. They take garlic powder, re-wet it and re-grind it. That makes it very fluffy and can fill a jar with less weight than a comparable volume of granulated garlic. This leads to a larger jar at a lower price point at the expense of flavor.

Rojo -

I would need to have a better idea of the other items and size particles in your blend to figure why it is caking up. If you have a high ratio of garlic and onion to other ingredients, that can be a big reason. Salt tends to help with the caking, but that depends on they type of salt and the size particles. Also, knowing the timeline it takes to clump, how long it stays in a bulk form before bottling, how old some ingredients are all make a difference. We can go offline if you would like.

Thanks Mike, that info is very helpful.

I marinade mine in a mix of pineapple juice, soy sauce and water (3 parts, 2 parts, one part respectively). Then I cook them after removing them from the marinade with the sous vide method for about 12-20 hours which gets them good and tender. I sear them on the grill under a good mesquite fire for about a minute a side to finish them. Never had leftovers. Your mileage may vary.