Silica Gel (?)

gjmalcyon said:

Note the caption of the picture: I refuse to use "gluten-free" and bread in the same sentence. Except for just now.
Smarta**.

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Yeah I know, it's the moral equivalent of de-caff coffee and near-beer.
It was the only pic I could find of bread balls, which phrase I thought might be pushin' it, itself.
Besides, haven't you ever hear of using bread as a humidifier for cookies (and sugar)?
:emmersed:

gjmalcyon said:

Not sure. According to Planet Waves:
"The Humidipak packets consist of a formulated salt, water, and gel solution contained in a leak-proof water vapor-permeable membrane. Based on scientific principles, the saturated solution will maintain a constant level of 45%-50% relative humidity within a sealed environment (your instrument case) without damaging fluctuations in humidity. The Humidipak System will actually dispense vapor as the humidity level goes down while at the same time absorb vapor when the humidity level rises within the instrument case."

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It's the salt that's the key, there.
Paper makers started doing it in paper about 10 years ago, to prevent curling during storage and running.
Paper made of wood pulp is hygroscopic just like wood and curls when it gets dried out and rippled when it gets too moist, which causes jamming when running through high-speed/high-temp copiers like production Xerox printers.
The salt was introduced and the content is regulated to stabilize the moisture content of the paper through fluctuations of humidity.

I believe the undisclosed content of the "gel" is the real key. We used similar gel a few years back. We needed to run a test with a simulated persons weight. We used a 30 gallon drum full of water and added the gel so the water did not slosh around during the testing. In theory you can allow if to dry out and re-use it to hold the water again at some later point. I also seem to recall one of those "TV Only" products that sold similar gel in colors with a tiny plant and a clear pot. You planted the plant in the clear pot using the gel as the soil and the water was held in the gel to feed the plant. Never saw one for real though. Worked great for our testing but seems wierd for a planter..... maybe a couple would look great by ones lava lampig: