Organize 2011
Your Spices and Herbs
Your Spices and Herbs
Girls, it’s time to clean out your spice cabinet.
Whether you keep your spices in a cupboard, a lazy susan, or a drawer, roll up your sleeves and clean it out.
Get rid of spices you don’t use anymore and clean off each spice and herb container and the shelves, before putting it back.
I found this on Ochef.com…
Great information on how to care for our spices and herbs.
How long can bottled spices be kept; what is the shelf life?
The good news is, spices do not spoil. The bad news is, they lose their strength. What is interesting is that a lot of cookbook writers tell you to purge your pantry once an herb or spice is about 6 months old. But the spice companies — among them behemoth McCormick and specialty spicer Penzeys — are not so reckless. They tell you to keep and use the spices as long as they appear to have flavor — and they trust you to be able to tell! Stored in an airtight container, in a cool, dry place, spices retain their potency longer than you’d think — as long as 4 years for whole spices, 2 to 3 years for ground spices, and 1 to 3 years for leafy herbs, depending on the herb. Whole peppercorns, nutmegs and cinnamon sticks hold on to their flavor for ages. Particularly potent whole spices, such as cloves, cumin, and cardamom will also last for a long, long time.
Herbs lose their flavor faster than spices. Dried herbs that have no color and no or very little smell when crumbled in the palm of your hand are probably too old for practical use. Yet even if they don’t look all that green anymore, but still have some oomph when crumbled in your hand, use them freely.
For ground spices, shake the jar, let it settle, and give a sniff. If there’s essentially no smell, it should be tossed out. If the spices have a bit of fragrance left but are not as potent as you remember or think they should be, just use more in the recipe. Then you’ll run out sooner and have a reason to start fresh with a new batch.
Of paramount importance in getting the most flavor and value out of your herbs and spices is to store them well — nowhere near the heat of the stove, nowhere near the humidity of the stove or dishwasher, nowhere bright and sunny. But don’t get the idea that putting them in the freezer is ideal, either. Condensation will be a problem each time the bottle comes out of the freezer and is likely to introduce moisture in the spices. Similarly, don’t ever shake herbs or spices out of the bottle directly into something you’re cooking — that’s the quickest way possible to steam and despoil your spices.
I keep my spices longer than 3 months. I have never had a problem.
me either…but I had a wonderful time getting rid of old spices that I haven't used and my endless supply of sprinkles that I haven't used in a while, too.:)
(Now at least I know what I have and don't have)
Thanks for the comment
I love to organize! But we moved into a home and our spices are now in a corner cabinet with a huge lazy susan. They are divided into areas in separate bins…one for baking desserts, another for ethnic cooking, etc. We have about 40 jars of spices. Even though I am trying to keep it organized it is yet again looking cluttered. HELP!
I have a lazy susan for my spices. It's not huge, but it's a good size. I went through all my spices and got rid of the spices I never use anymore (which was quite a few). When I was cleaning I also found a lot of doubled up spices. I would keep buying more not knowing I already had it. So, I consolidated those and my lazy susan is 2-tiered so I used a damp cloth to wash all the spices before placing back in the cupboard, putting all my baking supplies on the top and my savory spices below. That keeps it simple and it looks divine, organized and fresh!
I hope this helps…let me know how you do!
Jenny
Organization is the key to everything!