How do you feel about bulk spices?

[Claire]

I usually buy from a guy who buys in bulk, then packages in ziplocks. When I can get to Madison, I buy from Penzeys. I save small jars, then snip off a corner of the bag the spices come in, and funnel it into the jars after the first time I use them. I also save old spice jars from when I have bought at the grocery store. I don't think buying yourself in bulk would work for your average home kitchen (except for real baking lovers!). When on the road, I had some problems with getting very stale, bad spices -- especially cinnamon, cumin, and alspice. I find that I can store spices for longer than the proscribed year: Seal them well, keep them in a cool, dark, dry space. So many people put them on a spice rack on the wall or in that "what the heck do I do with it" odd exhaust fan cabinet over the stove. They don't last long in those locations.

 

[Raine]

We recycle our old bottles/tins of the ones we bought at the store. You can carry them to the bulk store with you and fill them up without having to fool with the bags.

It's certainly cheaper to buy whatever quantity you want at a bulk rate, but I buy mine in my market, in bottles with seals. The only downside I see to buying in bulk, is you have your herbs/spices in a baggie, then what? I dont keep container on hand to store them, and dont want a bunch of baggies in my cupboard, and have to label them all. Where is that person that had questions on spices in terms of how to market them? He/she could certainly benefit from this conversation.

 

[Anita]

I've heard that the fresh stuff is better, BUT...

we need to take into account how much of what we use regularly, AND take into account changing patterns. For instance, I'm new to this whole cooking thing...only been doing it for 3 years now. When I FIRST started, I used Italian Seasoning for just about every dish, so I bought the BIG container. THEN, I got interested in OTHER cooking avenues and that big container of the stuff just SAT there...for MONTHS while *I* got interested in OTHER types of cooking that didn't use that. It's recycling back to using that stuff NOW, but had I known that my inclinations would have moved in other directions, I never would have bought that large container.

My FREEZER can only accommodate SO MUCH, and I already have fresh ginger root, yeast, and a bunch of other things in there taking up space. I won't even MENTION the garbage bag [contents of which are used to make broths]. If Whole Foods is willing to part with SMALL portions of various spices, *I* think that's the best buy ONLY because once spices go flat there's no flavor AT ALL. Sealed would be good until use. Small packs sealed and frozen would be BEST, IMO.