Storing herbs and spices

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pepperhead212

pepperhead212

Executive Chef
Joined
Nov 21, 2018
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Location
Woodbury, NJ
The discussions on the "Who needs spices?" thread made me start one on this topic, and made me think of a lot of things I do to extend the life of spices. It also made me remember setting up my kitchen (in '84!), and thinking, "where am I going to put all of those spices, so I can easily get to them?" This was way before I got into Indian, and other types of cooking that have a lot of spices, yet I still had way too many to stick on those turntables in the cupboards, and I hated those things, anyway!

So I used one of the drawers in a cabinet, and labeled the tops of the jars (I had saved those jars for years, when emptied). To make it easier to locate things, I highlighted them - herbs green, sweet spices orange, and others yellow. A lot are blue now, but I have to relabel those. Took about 2 years to totally fill this - now there's another drawer, plus 4 labeled boxes, for Indian, but these are the ones used for most things:
Spice drawer by pepperhead212, on Flickr

To keep things fresh, I do two things - freeze and foodsaver (my slang for vac/pack). Before I had a foodsaver, I froze most things, and put enough in the jars to last 3-6 months. For some things, this was a small amount, others, the jar could be filled. The ones I don't use much of, I put in those small jars I would get freebies in from Penzey's; I use those for spice mixes I will use slowly. For freezing, things like cinnamon, cloves, and other potent spices of which the aroma permeates the plastic bags, I'd keep in jars, with rubber seals, and the bags around them, in a large box in the freezer.

Now, I don't keep as much in the freezer - only ground spices (in foodsaver bags), and things like saffron and blades of mace, that I don't that often. The whole spices and herbs I foodsaver, and they keep very well, and I store them in an 18 gal tub in the basement. I have three 2 gal ziplocs labeled Misc. Spices, Indian Spices, and Herbs. Easy to locate something, when I have to refill a jar.
Here are some foodsavered spices, from the Misc. bag:
Foodsavered spices by pepperhead212, on Flickr

(When I took this photo, I noticed some things that I have to toss! Mostly freebies, but some that I just stopped using way back.)

It's easy to refill from those bags - I just snip the corner off one, and pour it into a jar through the small opening. Then, I re-foodsaver it, and put it back away.

One thing I do with frozen spices, though this might be unnecessary, esp. in the winter, is let it come to room temp, before snipping the bag, and refilling the jar. If the humidity is high, as in the summer, condensation could occur on the spices, though, again, this is probably just OCD!

I remember when I started cooking, it seemed that I would have to increase the spices in many recipes, for it to taste right. I thought it was because I just wanted things to taste stronger. It wasn't until years later, when shopping in NYC, at "The Spice Shop", where I got fresher spices than I had ever found, and I didn't have to double the cinnamon in a recipe any longer! Cayenne pepper (the only hot pepper I had back then), that's another story...

For years after that, a bulk spice and tea shop in the Italian Market in Philly was my source for spices. Sadly, it closed, but shortly after that, the only sources started up!
 
That's really quite impressive Dave.

If I had available drawers I'd do the same as the top picture, and would go so far as to alphabetize them. Your printing is a lot better than mine though.
 
Another thing that I forgot about, until I opened a cabinet, and saw my package of these things - oxygen adsorbers. I use these occasionally in spices - usually ones that I rarely open, but I want to keep some of it out of the freezer, like the saffron. They remain active for a long time, since there is little O2 in the jar, but this is adsorbed many times after closing it, and the oxidation of the flavor components is greatly reduced. Besides herbs and spices losing aromatic compounds, oxidation is another cause of their loss of flavor.

These O2 adsorbers are something you have to store in a vac pack. I originally got a pack of 250 of them really cheap, and when I first opened it, they started warming up! So I took out a couple, and re-vacuum packed it. I just take out what I need (I use them mostly for jars with grains and legumes), and reseal it.
 
Kayelle said:
...If I had available drawers I'd do the same as the top picture, and would go so far as to alphabetize them...
Click to expand...
Like this? IMG_20190203_162357303.jpg
 
I moved my cooking spoons and rubber scrapers and such to a big pitcher on my counter just so I could put my short jars in a drawer. All of my bigger containers ate in the cupboard above.
IMG_20190203_162504797.jpg
 
Good job on the drawer CG, but I'd need bigger labels for these eyes.



A long time ago we had a thread with pictures of all of our cupboards of spices but I can't find it now. Maybe you can.
 
I have a corner kitchen cabinet with a three level Lazy Susan where I keep the majority of my spices. They are, of course, arranged alphabetically. I also have a spice annex in the basement storage area where I keep overflow and less frequently used spices. I’m fortunate in that I have a penzeys store close by and I can go shopping there periodically to refill my supplies.
 
Considering my nature, my tool cabinet and my pantry are pretty well organized. Not in alphabetic order, but my spices are on a rack that I built, my salts are all together on one shelf, as are all of my oils. Pastas, beans, and other canned goods are all grouped together.

Whether I am cooking, or working on my car, I can walk to a spot, and immediately find what I need. If some of you recall, I recently lost my wallet for three days -- in my house. So, my tool cabinet and pantry are a major accomplishment for me. :rolleyes:

Back before I organized my pantry, I was always buying things I already had, because I thought I was out of them. When you get to four jars of the same spice, you have a pantry epiphany. Now, if it ain't where it is supposed to be, I am actually out of it.

CD
 
CD, Your mention of having 4 containers of the same spice reminded me of another thing that I do - I keep an inventory of all of the extra spices I have. I also ended up with too many of the same spice, before beginning the inventory.
 
pepperhead212 said:
CD, Your mention of having 4 containers of the same spice reminded me of another thing that I do - I keep an inventory of all of the extra spices I have. I also ended up with too many of the same spice, before beginning the inventory.
Click to expand...

I was an art major in college. Keeping an inventory of anything would make my head explode. Writing out a shopping list is a real achievement for me.

I am glad I finally organized my pantry. And, I've kept it organized for over a year. Amazing!

CD
 
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I too label the top of my daily meds. They are kept in my nightstand drawer. When looking down of them, so much easier to pick out what you need or want. The same goes for spices and seasonings. I just take the cover that is already labeled and put it on the new container. Been doing that for several years. Specially since I moved in here 12 years ago. I have also applied this hack to food stuffs on the door of the fridge. Instead of having to take the jar from the rack, the contents are written right on the lid. A great help when at the bottom of the jar.

My sister's fridge was crammed with multiple opened jars and bottles of the same item. So one day when we knew she would be gone for most of the day, her daughter and I took every single container out of the fridge. We each grabbed a rubber spatula and started to combine the likes together. The worse one was seven open jars of mayo. All the same brand. Reduced to two jars and labeled with a black marker. Some, but not a lot, got tossed outside in her lidded barrels. One was an open jar of mayo with a ten year old Exp. date. Way in back of the fridge. We never let her forget that one. Both her daughter and myself made her watch as we scraped that baby into the barrel. We took no chances with her trying to retrieve it later. And she would have.

Black Markers are your best friend when it come to food items. Name on top of lid, Date bought on label. Just transfer the lid.
 
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OMG! And I thought my sister was bad, Addie! She also would have been one of those that wouldn't have wanted to toss something 10 years old.

On a related story, I was forced to clean out my fridge when it died on me, back in September. The oldest labeled item I had was 1996; though I knew that I had refilled it since then, it was still over 10 years old. Though salted, fermented black beans will last forever in a fridge, I tossed the last couple tb, and got a new pound of them. I made something with them today, but that's elsewhere.


I keep those sharpies all over, for marking foods. Sometimes I forget to scratch out the date, and enter a new, in things I refill, like those 1996 salted black beans!
 
pepperhead212 said:
OMG! And I thought my sister was bad, Addie! She also would have been one of those that wouldn't have wanted to toss something 10 years old.

On a related story, I was forced to clean out my fridge when it died on me, back in September. The oldest labeled item I had was 1996; though I knew that I had refilled it since then, it was still over 10 years old. Though salted, fermented black beans will last forever in a fridge, I tossed the last couple tb, and got a new pound of them. I made something with them today, but that's elsewhere.


I keep those sharpies all over, for marking foods. Sometimes I forget to scratch out the date, and enter a new, in things I refill, like those 1996 salted black beans!
Click to expand...

I helped my best friend clean out what was left of his beach house a week after hurricane Ike. The fridge was laying on the kitchen floor, doors up. If I live to be 100, I will NEVER forget the smell that hit us in the face like a Muhammed Ali punch when we opened that refrigerator door.:ohmy::LOL:

BTW, all of my vacuum sealed meats in the freezer are marked with a sharpie. It is amazing how frozen, vacuum sealed meats can become blobs of "WTF is this?"

CD
 
Cheryl J said:
...I'd love to have an empty drawer like you and CG have, to store my spices. I just don't have an empty drawer I can spare...
Click to expand...
But I didn't have an empty drawer, Cheryl. I had to make an empty drawer by moving all of my cooking spoons, scrapers, and flippers to a 2-quart Longaberger pitcher that is on my counter. Any kind of container that holds cooking spoons would do. Voila, empty drawer!
 
I keep my spices in the fridge. I use one of the bins on the bottom.
Yes, its a bit of a pain as I have to search when I need something. But I buy the Costco sized spice containers when I can. And the small containers I get from the grocery store go into a zip lock bag in the drawer as well.
 
Kayelle said:
Oh I'm so glad you found that fun thread Cheryl...[emoji2]
Click to expand...
Me too, that was fun to read again [emoji38]

I store mine pretty much the same - my cupboard is fuller now, though. I do keep seeds in the freezer - they can go rancid quickly because of the oils they contain.
 
Cheryl J said:
Very nice Pepperhead, thank you for sharing!

I'd love to have an empty drawer like you and CG have, to store my spices. I just don't have an empty drawer I can spare.

Kayelle....found the old thread you were referring to! Our pics have probably changed a bit since then - I know mine has, a little. :)

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f132/penzeys-free-spice-offer-95528.html
Click to expand...
Glad you bumped that up, Cheryl! I never saw it, being (fairly) new to the site, but I'm glad that I read it!

I remember all those emails I'd get from Penzey's, with deals - often the free shipping with a small order, like that, or if buying a particular item. Never had to be on Facebook, for those deals. Now, it's free shipping with a $25 purchase, which is hard to be under!
 
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