RH or R/H meaning

[bigappetite]

What does this mean? I see it in a lot of recipes.

[BBQer]

Relative humidity?

[jpj]

the amount of moisture in the immediate environment

[dougal]

Relative humidity is

the amount of moisture in the immediate environment

referenced against the amount of moisture the air *could* carry at that temperature. Usually as a percentage. 40% is a dry day in the UK (or usual inside a fridge) while 70% is the steaminess after a UK thundershower (or a dry day in the rainforest!)
The warmer the air is, the more moisture it can carry.

For drying and "air curing" salami, ham, coppa, etc, you don't want the air to be too dry ('cos that would cause the outside to dry out quickly, trapping wetness in the middle) or too wet ('cos it wouldn't dry out, and moulds would thrive).

Hope that helps - and welcome to the forum, BTW!

[jpj]

so try and aim for about 70% for air-drying and you'll be

[bigappetite]

thanks to all. great information. is there anyway to control it? i am located in northeast Georgia, US and it is very humid here.

[dougal]

thanks to all. great information. is there anyway to control it? i am located in northeast Georgia, US and it is very humid here.

There is some stuff on here, make use of the 'search' facility!

Wet salt will control (but not very powerfully) towards 75%.

The cooling elements in a fridge will knock out some moisture as condensation (potentially frost) - hence most fridges run pretty dry.
Heating the air in an enclosed space reduces its RH but doesn't change the total moisture content.
Running a heater (like a 15w light bulb) inside a fridge causes the cooler to operate more and so knock out more moisture.
You can raise the humidity with a bowl of water... or an ultrasonic fogger or a plant mister spray, or...

You can buy humidity meters (hygrometers) quite cheaply. (Pet shops, eBay...) Its a function on many pretty cheap digital thermometers - but beware that it is very rare on the remote probes for such items.
Hygrostats, humidity controlled switches, are available, but cost rather more than thermostat switches.