Today’s blog post is all about the do’s and the don’ts of storing spices.
I’m sure you have a drawer or a cupboard that’s filled to the brim with a selection of your commonly used and some not so commonly used herbs & spices and seasoning blends. When was the last time you checked the expiry date on them? I know you will run to your drawer and take a peek and will freak yourself out with the use by or best before dates. Am I right? Did you find a jar with an expiry date of May 2012?
Spices are the probably the only long lasting ingredients you will have in your kitchen. They usually have a life span of years, so you automatically think – Yeah, I’m good, I’ve got ages to use this jar up. BZZZ erm NO! Herbs and Spices are not invincible! I know in my everyday homelife I want all my herbs and spices to have the optimal flavour and still smell divine when I open the jar. Flavours and smells are what I love the most about food and cooking.
Today is the day that I want to motivate everyone to go and open their spice drawer and start looking at use by or best before dates. Check the dates, open the jar and inhale. Does it still smell ok? Is the colour of the product still bright? If not, then what I am about to tell you goes against everything I say and do in my home and in my life. I want you to grab that jar, shake the contents out into the compost bin and then throw away the glass/plastic empty jar into your recycling bin! Because it’s time to get rid of it. Alternatively, I have a few suggestions on how to repurpose your old and stale herbs and spices.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and then add in one to two tablespoons of “off” herbs and spices (whatever you want) let that boil then turn off the heat. Your entire house will smell DIVINE!
- You can freshen up your carpet by simply sprinkling some ginger and rosemary lightly all over your carpet. Let is sit for a few minutes and then vacuum (avoid turmeric, curries, chilies) as they will stain your carpets.
- Cockroaches LOATHE Bay leaves! So, keep a tiny plate/bowl in a dark place to keep cockroaches away!
- Wanna keep your plants happy? Then add a concoction of rosemary, thyme, oregano and bay leaf into your pots. These herbs really help your plants go strong.
- Is your garden constantly getting visitors from rats, mice, possums? Then use your old spices like cayenne pepper, black pepper, and chilli powders and place them in the soil to send these visitors running!
In my home…well… we have 2 cupboards and 1 spice drawer. My arsenal of herbs and spices and salts that I use to make your blends and seasonings are kept in the coolest and darkest room in my home (my office) as well as having a supply of them at the commercial kitchen I use, where I make everything fresh for you. You want your herbs and spices potency to be at its optimal or at its peak.
The enemy of any herbs and spices are air, light, moisture and heat. Store your spices in a cool dry, dark cupboard and always, ALWAYS, dispense with a clean dry spoon. ALWAYS. The same goes for Olive oil, keep your oil tucked away in a dark cupboard. I cringe when I visit family and friends and see that they have their spice rack either on “display” on the countertop and worse sitting in the cupboard directly over their oven or their stove top. Heat/warm air rises (and cooler air sinks) why place your expensive herbs and spices on top of cooking equipment that has hot blasting air and heat? So, remove them if you can and find a cooler spot for them. Trust me you will thank me for this!
On the 1st of each and every month you will find me shaking my containers/jars up even the products that I use to make your goods. I also turn the jars upside down for a few days. I have them sitting upside down then I will flip them back over.
Rule of thumb, spices and dried herbs, leafy dried herbs and flowers will keep for 1-2 years. Whole chilli peppers will really only keep for 12 months and seeds (coriander seeds, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, cumin seeds, mustard seeds) will keep for 2-3 years.
A few other handy hints that will help keep your herbs and spices fresher for longer is to try and store them in opaque or coloured jars rather than the plastic/glass jars that they come in.
The most important hint is to never ever dump your spices over a hot pan. By shaking a spice jar over a hot pan allows steam and moisture into your container which has the possibility of mould and caked up “hard” herbs and spices. Take your time when adding herbs and spices to your meal and be precise. If your recipe says 1 teaspoon then use a measuring spoon and measure it out and then sprinkle into your hot pan.
The question I get asked a lot is whether it is ok to freeze dried herbs and spices. Hmm…research tells me that you can do this, but I refuse to. I’m not ok with placing a dried herb and spice in my freezer. It’s dried for a reason. I have a concern that moisture may leak in and the thought of “defrosting” a batch just doesn’t sit right with me. Of course, you do whatever you feel you need to, but for me personally it’s a huge no. I’d much rather buy what I need, the amount I need, and then re-purchase more when I need it. For me it is also about over excessive shopping. I buy what my home needs. Yes, I understand you got yourself a kilo bag of parsley for $2.00, fantastic! But think about it for a moment…will you use a kilo of dried parsley in a year?
We clean our fridge out regularly so why not our spice drawer? Come on get up and let’s do it!
I hope this has been an informative blog for you all.
Love
Irene
