Spices help add taste to our foods and almost every kitchen in the world has a few spices stored in it. Interestingly, if not stored properly these spices can go bad very fast and sadly even ruin the taste of our food, in worse cases, they can contaminate it. Storing spices can be a tricky task since if stored in the wrong way, you will end up spoiling expensive spices very quickly and if stored properly these spices can last out for several years.
Some tips below will help you to store your spices in the right way:
- Dry – The first and foremost rule of storing spices in the right way is to keep them in absolutely dry containers. The containers need to be kept air tight so that moisture cannot enter easily. Make sure that you keep these containers away from moisture in a completely dry place. The one common enemy of all spices is moisture. Once your spices are exposed to moisture, they will spoil in a very short time. So when looking to keep your spices good for a longer time, your first concern should be to keep them dry.
- Away from sunlight – Another common enemy of all spices is exposure to the sun. If you keep your spices in the sun for too long they are every likely to lose their flavor and in most cases their color too. This is why while storing your spices it is important to keep them in a dark place where you will not be exposing them to the sun. Interestingly, in case your spices do get exposed to moisture, it helps to leave them for an hour or so in the sun to dry up. So while a little sun may do your spices some good, over exposure will ruin them.
- Label – When storing spices, make sure the label is affixed on the containers. Of course the name of the spice is important, but do make sure that you put a date of purchase on the spice bottle too. This date will help you judge when you bought the spice and thereby also ascertain if the spice has expired or gone bad despite the best storage. In case you grew the spice at home simple put the date of bottling on the spice container.
Every few month check the spices; many of them need to be thrown away. If you feel your spices have gone bad, begin by looking for color changes. Tasting a bit will also help you to figure out if the spice has lost its flavor. If the spice is not its usual texture and has taken on a clumpy texture, in most cases this indicates that the spice has gone bad. It also helps to store spices away from soaps and detergents since in most cases the spices will absorb their aroma and get contaminated. Spices are mostly quite expensive and if you store them properly you can make the last longer. So keep the tips above in mind and you can buy spices in bulk without having to worry about them going bad.
I put some gram seeds in my spices and it helps keep them dry. White gram is odorless and is light colored, so while it works great as moisture absorbent, it does not affect the quality of the spice. This trick works like magic when trying to keep salt from getting all lumpy too. Gram seeds will keep your salt free flowing no matter how bad the weather. Do make sure that the skin of the gram has been removed so that it can absorb moisture better.