I like stale Peeps. I love them when they’re just shy of crunchy. The problem is that the humidity here prevents them from getting properly stale. Therefore, I have started an experiment.
I have sealed an open tray of Peeps in a cardboard box. Sitting next to the Peeps is an open container of silica gel, which is a dessicant. It’s a round can (think Christmas butter cooky tin) with one and a half pounds of freshly dehydrated gel in it.
I shall let the box sit a week and then check to see if I have caused stale Peepy goodness!
I am interested in this experiment. My daughter also likes stale Peeps. At this time of year there is no problem getting them properly stale. But she buys in bulk right after Easter, and in July and August, nothing is crunchy.
It’s working! Some of the grains of silica gel are treated with cobalt chloride, which turns pink when they’re wet and blue when they’re dry. I opened the box, and the ones on the surface are pink. I poked at the Peeps. They seem to be at a week’s worth of stale, if it were a drier climate than here. I think I’ll let them go about 48 hours before I check them again.
Well, it’s been five more days. The Peeps have not achieved the staleness of bliss I was hoping for. They were merely slightly less soft than fresh. I will either have to try a new approach or move to a drier climate.
Try putting them in the fridge (open). After a day or two bring them back out and put them in some kind of airtight container while they come back up to room temp so they don’t condensate.
Provided you don’t have your fridge loaded with tons of fresh produce or cool hot food while you’re doing this, that’s a very dry environment. A refrigerator acts like a dehumidifier.
Just remember (like I said), when you take them back out they’ll condensate, so you’ll need to seal them up for a few hours.
The silica gel has the pink/blue grains that show if it’s saturated. They were pink all the way to the bottom of the can. Maybe the box was too permeable. I ended this experiment by eating the Peeps.
have you tried microwaving for a few seconds and letting them cool? they never go back to their fluffy, fresh state. They get a little chewy and tough if you do it just right. Not hard and dry, but definitely not fresh.
