Keep Garlic Powder From Clumping With This Surprising Pantry Staple

I used to open my garlic powder container to reveal a solid clumped mass. I keep this spice in a shallow, round container that resembles a hockey puck, and the fine powder would fuse into a ghostly version nearly as firm. I would shake the container, bang it on the counter, stab the clump with a fork (a dangerous move I don’t recommend), and eventually flake off enough to use, most of it coating my fingers.

I switched to garlic granules, but the coarser grains still clumped up. Even though dried ground garlic stays flavorful for a couple of years, I was composting the puck-hard remnants and buying fresh powder every few months. That stopped when I added a natural desiccant to the container: a few dried beans.

Why Adding a Few Dried Beans Prevents Clumping

Garlic powder clumps more than some spices because it’s just dried, finely ground fresh garlic, which has lots of natural oils, starches, and sugars. The sticky mess garlic makes when you mince, press, or grate a fresh clove reveals just how juicy it can be.

Drying evaporates some of garlic’s pungent, fresh liquid, but the oils remain and readily absorb that moisture back from the air. The same is true of onion powder, paprika, chili powder, ground ginger, and even some oil-rich ground seeds, like cumin.

One way to minimize clumping is to use garlic salt, made with garlic powder, salt, and an anti-caking agent. But most blends include more salt than garlic powder, encouraging oversalting.

Instead, I bury three or four dried beans in garlic powder and other finely ground spices prone to hardening. Any uncooked dried beans work. I typically put red kidney or black beans in pale spices like garlic powder and white navy or cannellini beans in darker spices to easily spot the moisture-absorbing legumes.

A few rice grains would also absorb clump-causing moisture, a trick my grandpa used in his salt shaker. But large beans are easier to fish out when measuring finely ground powders; they also lack the powdery starch that sometimes coats rice.

This clump-stopping trick works even better when you keep spices in airtight containers and limit moisture and steam exposure. Store spices away from major humidity sources like the stove, microwave, and dishwasher. Instead of measuring directly over a steaming pot of sauce or soup, open the container away from hot food. Buy finely ground spices in small amounts and replace the beans every time you refill the container to ensure freshness.