Spices

  Posted on June 26, 2018  by Leslie Blythe  1 comment

My husband built me a spice rack in about 2 hours! He is VERY handy to have around! I  know I have WAY too many spices, but considering what I do for a living…. Anyway, I had spices in 3 different locations in my kitchen, so I would end up spending a lot of time searching and swearing. Anyway, now that are all blissfully in one place. I found my daughter’s labeling machine and clearly labeled everything, which satisfies all my inner OCD tendencies!

Many people ask me how long can they keep spices. It depends on what it is.

Over time, spices will lose their potency and not flavor your food as intended. As a general rule, whole spices will stay fresh for about 4 years, ground spices for about 3 to 4 years and dried leafy herbs for 1 to 3 years.

There are some things that don’t expire like pure vanilla extract. Joining in on the good-for-life club is sugar. Domino says that since sugar “does not support microbial growth,” it will last forever when properly stored though, brown sugar and powdered sugar are better to use within two years. Chemical makeup plays a large role, as so does storage. Your honey won’t be around forever unless you are keeping it sealed and in a dry environment. The same rules apply for cornstarch, an item Argo and Kingsford said will stand the test of time as long as it is kept dry. Salt will keep going, too. According to Morton, regular old salt won’t expire, but once you add in other factors — like iodine — you change the equation; iodized salt will last for about five years.

I expect all of you to get your spices organized!