Table Salt Caking -- Has anyone Noticed a Difference

[jpanhalt]

For decades, I only used Morton table salt: "When it rains, it pours."  Lately, it cakes up in my salt shaker and even in the 1# shelf container.  Morton switched from yellow prussiate of soda (sodium ferrocyanide) to calcium silicate as anti-caking agent.  Its current salt also has dextrose in it, but I don't know for how long that has been the case.

Six weeks ago, I bought Great Value (Walmart brand) table salt with yellow prussiate of soda (I guess marketing had an issue with ferrocyanide).  It has remained easily pourable for weeks in July/August humidity.

Has anyone else noticed that difference?

[Stray Electron]

  I haven't but I haven't bought a new container of salt in a LONG time. One can lasts me for YEARS. 

[jpanhalt]

One pound of table salt lasts me a very long time too.  I happened to buy Morton a month or so ago, noticed the difference, and started searching.  I go through Kosher salt much more quickly, as I make a poultice with it and use that to encrust some roasts when baking them.

I love that subtle taste difference.

[langwadt]

dextrose is added to prevent the potassium iodine from breaking down, other countries use potassium iodate instead but afaiu FDA only allows potassium iodine

[coppercone2]

For decades, I only used Morton table salt: "When it rains, it pours."  Lately, it cakes up in my salt shaker and even in the 1# shelf container.  Morton switched from yellow prussiate of soda (sodium ferrocyanide) to calcium silicate as anti-caking agent.  Its current salt also has dextrose in it, but I don't know for how long that has been the case.

Six weeks ago, I bought Great Value (Walmart brand) table salt with yellow prussiate of soda (I guess marketing had an issue with ferrocyanide).  It has remained easily pourable for weeks in July/August humidity.

Has anyone else noticed that difference?

I love this one. B-vitamin is cyano lol. There needs to be more education about the alphabet of chemistry. Very specific words can be dangerous. Its practically a suffix or prefix.

[themadhippy]

chuck a bit of uncooked rice your salt shaker

[jpanhalt]

Sure, rice works, but the Walmart brand and many others are half the price to begin with and don't need rice.

[coppercone2]

How about that silicate?

Asbestos is a group of naturally occurring, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. 

Also there is those damn calcium bearing kidney stones.

I bet there is a non zero chance of getting some asbestos in your salt from cheap calcium silicate production methods

Its also rather insoluble. I wonder if it can be a nucleation point for kidney stones, since small particles might permeate tissues, and accumulate in preferred areas, compared to very soluble ferricyanide which will be flushed from your body quickly due to its high solubility. Something along the lines of a seed crystal.

It really seems that all these feel good replacements we got for traditional chemicals is just more complicated and worse lol

[Halcyon]

For what it's worth, I never buy salt with an anti-caking agent in it. I don't see the point. I keep both flaked and rock salt on-hand. The rock salt I use for things like pasta water, or use it to fill up my salt grinder.