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Bob (this one)

wrote:

> : > Salt does too go "bad", salt is a dessicant, salt is a magnet for
> : > moisture. I learned long ago not to stock up on bouillon cubes,
> : > especially not the powdered form... after about a year the texture of
> : > these products will have been seriously altered to something that's not
> : > too appetizing (sludge), and since it has absorbed *excess* moisture
>
> : It will have magically transported moisture right through
> : the plastic jar and plastic lid. Amazing that moisture...
> : huh...?
>
> : > (salt contains moisture naturally)
>
> It's the opening and closing of the lid that enables moisture to either
> escape or enter. But yes, some plastics are permeable.

Unless the lids are left off for a long time and there's a
helluva wind with lashing rain blowing straight into the
container, I'd say that opening and closing the jar will
have precious little enabling about it. Sure, there will
likely be a humidity imbalance between outside and inside,
but the absolute amount of water vapor in that 20 seconds of
being open while a cube is retrieved will be on the other
side of trivial.

They don't pack foods in hard-wall plastics for decorative
value. They're not permeable. Meat wraps are permeable.
They're used deliberately. Packaging is a very well-detailed
business nowadays with an astonishing panoply of choices for
protection, enhancement and preservation. Read about it.

> In low-humidity areas like Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, bullion cubes
> that are past their expiration date don't dissolve in water very easily
> as they have dried up to the point that they are only good for using as
> slingshot ammo.

There's no such thing as an expiration date for bouillon
cubes, as you'd know if you were actually knowledgeable. If
they're kept in their original *protective* packaging, I'm
afraid I can't envision such a thing as you're talking about
within reasonable time. Twaddle is one way to describe your
comments.

Here are some good general formulas for making them from a
European company. American companies go essentially the same
way. <http://www.stock-cubes.com/formulas.html> The numbers
are per mille ratios.

To be sure, some water is bound with the salt and various
sugars, but migration is slight and a very long time needs
to elapse before enough enters or leaves to materially
affect quality. Here's a nutrient breakdown of bouillon
cube/powder:
<http://www.fineli.fi/food.php?foodid=38&lang=en> and if you
add up the weights, you get right near 97% accounted for.
Water is the rest. Here's what the USDA database has to say
about it:
<http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/cgi-bin/list_nut_edit.pl>
and they say water is 3.27% of dry weight.

Find something else to write about.

Pastorio