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One of our favorite rubs that we make tends to form hard balls of caked up material after it sits for a few days.

It's a rib-type rub. In a 2 1/4 Cup batch there is:
3/4 C Sugar
1/4 C Brown Sugar
1 1/4 C salt and other spices

My hunch is that the brown sugar is the culprit. Possibly removing and substituting for it is an option.

Many rubs list "silicon dioxide to prevent caking". I have never worked with the product and wouldn't know how much add.

Any suggestions? Thanks, Roger
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See if this gets you there.

For Silicon Dioxide or Tricalcium Phosphate mix no more than 2%.

Cornstarch: 2 Tbsp per 5 cups.


Turbinado sugar,in place of brown sugar often helps.

John Willingham from Memphis cooks his rubs that contain sugar and then grinds them.

Chris Schlesinger from New England also uses this technique.

They both have books out.

Hope this helps a little.
Roger,
Do you remember this discussion about Brown Sugar at class? What is brown sugar?
A lot of people instead of using Turbinado, just dehydrate their brown sugar. It's the moisture in the BS that is caking up your rubs.

GeiyserQ..You asked about Turbinado, here's what I know:

Cooks Thesaurus for Sugar

Another source's definition of Turbinado. People sometimes call it "coffee sugar" because of the crystal size. Think of it like this. As kosher salt is to table salt, turbinado is to brown sugar. Both are just bigger crystals -- basically, at least for our discussions.

or

Turbinado sugar is a healthier alternative to refined sugar. While both sweeteners are made from sugar cane, turbinado sugar does not undergo the same degree of processing that refined sugar does. It retains some of the natural molasses and so is tan in color. Liquids are spun out of the sugar thus the name "turbinado". Unlike refined sugar, turbinado sugar retain more of the nutrients found in sugar cane.

or
Turbinado Sugar is large crystals of light (or dark) brown sugar are prepared from the unrefined, minimally processed, juice of sugar cane. The juice is spun out of the cane, thus the name Turbinado.

And finally, according to Sugar facts at Sugar Order

Sugar facts

Everyone knows that many companies make brown sugar by just adding molasses to white sugar. Well, turbinado can be created the same way.
Those are the only way, but a lot of companies make them that way.

See, now you know...

or course I didn't mention "Succanat" which is "Sugar Cane Natural" which is a different taste also.
This is what the "Food Lovers Companion" had to say:

The flavor of raw sugar is akin to that of brown sugar. In this raw state, however, sugar may contain contaminants such as molds and fibers. The so-called raw sugar marketed in the United States has been purified, negating much of what is thought to be its superior nutritive value. Two popular types of raw sugar are the coarse-textured dry Demerara sugar from the Demerara area of Guyana, and the moist, fine-textured Barbados sugar. Turbinado sugar is raw sugar that has been steam-cleaned. The coarse turbinado crystals are blond colored and have a delicate molasses flavor. Other sources of sugar include maple sap, palm sap and sorghum. Almost 100 percent of sugar is carbohydrate. Granulated white sugar contains about 770 calories per cup, as does the same weight (which equals about 2 cups) of confectioners' sugar. A cup of brown sugar is slightly higher at 820 calories. It also contains 187 milligrams of calcium, 56 of phosphorous, 4.8 of iron, 757 of potassium and 97 of sodium, compared to only scant traces of those nutrients found in granulated sugar.

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