Spices don’t ‘spoil’ like milk or meat, however they do lose their strength over time. Many people advise that you replace your spices every 6 months, but that is a lot of money! Here’s some tips on extending the life of your spices:
- Store your spices in a cool, dark place
- Keep containers tightly closed to protect them from moisture and oxidation
- Consider storing your spices in tins which will protect them from light
- Direct light fades the color and reduces the quality of your spices. It is better to store them in a cabinet than in a pretty spice rack
- Don’t store your spices near heat sources (such as your stove, microwave or dishwasher)
- Write the purchase date of the spice/herb on the container so you’ll know how long you’ve had them
- Replace the lid on the bottle as soon as you use them.
- Do not sprinkle over a steaming pot directly from the bottle. The steam will result in caking or loss of flavor.
- Paprika and Chili Powder should be stored in the fridge. The rest of the spices should not.
- Freezing does not extend the shelf life but rather may develop condensation which will accelerate loss of flavor and aroma.
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I have a girlfriend with a HUGE garden. Every summer she gives me freezer bags full of frozen herbs. She doesn’t pre-chop and add to ice cube trays. She just picks them, stuffs them into bags and freezes. When you want some you open the bag and grab what you need. It’s easier because freezing them this way makes them brittle, so they crumble easily and you don’t really need to chop them.
I do agree that dried herbs lose there flavor and smell when frozen.
How ever if you have fresh herbs chop them up and add a bit of olive oil to them and freeze them in ice cube trays. Once completely frozen you can transfer to a freezer bag. How much herbs in each cube you may be wondering? In a “normal” ice cube tray it is 1 Tablespoon. Great trick for herbs like parsley, cilantro, basil, chives,dill and other soft herbs.I would stay away from things like fresh curry and rosemary.
Also I do this with lemons and limes (that r close to spoiling) and add zest into the juice great for a quick saute.
I am in the process of finding friends who have various types of fresh herbs so that we can trade. I have tons of oregano I plan to trade for parsley. I will have to make trades several times during the year but at least I’ll have a steady supply of herbs without spending tons of money.
I sometimes get a larger package and split with my mom and/or sister. We get a better price, but a manageable amount to use before it loses flavor.
This is what we do also. We also share when we want to try something new. That way nobody invests too much money into a spice that they might not like (and if one of us doesn’t like it but the other does we can just pass ours back to them).