Storing Spices

This month one of the storage areas I am working on is spices. We all love spices, our food would not be the same without them, so we need to store some in our food storage. When trying to decide what to store, we need to go look at our spice cabniet to see what we seem to use most and then make a list of those spices. I also think it is important to go through your spices as you are looking up there. Growing up, I remember my parents always saying spices last forever. So, I guess I have lived like that too since I have lots of 10 year old spices in my cabniet and on my spice racks. The frugal in me just cringes when I throw something out, but most spices do have expiration dates on them. If you can't find a date on the spice look at it. Does it still have a smell? Spices should have a smell. What is the color of the spice? Spices that should be green should not be beige. Time will make them become discolored. Ground spices quickly lose flavor, which is why whole peppercorns last longer than ground pepper. To keep your spices fresh longer, store them away from heat, light, and moisture. That will help to preserve flavor and color, and prevent clumping.

So what’s a reasonable storage time? McCormick shares these guidelines for how long spices can be expected to last:
Seasoning blends: 1-2 years
Herbs: 1-3 years
Ground spices: - 2-3 years
Whole spices (such as cinnamon sticks and peppercorns): 3-4 years
Extracts: 4 years (except for pure vanilla, which lasts indefinitely)

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If your spice bottle is missing an expiration date, you can check it online:
Check dates for McCormick spices
Check dates for Spice Islands, Durkee, Tone’s, French’s, Dec A Cake, and Trader’s Choice

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I think the big thing with storing spices is that you need to rotate as you buy new stuff. The hard thing about that is I don't buy new spices enough to go and make time to do a spice cleanout. We got 5 spice racks when I got married 10 years ago. I took all of them back, but 2. I still have those spices in my spice racks and I have only change out a few of the jars and a few are empty. So, I am going to throw all of those away. Actually, when I am all done, I will probably throw half of my spices away.

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Here are the spices I use a lot that I plan to store for my food storage:

Cinnamon

Garlic Powder

Seasoning Salt

Chili Powder

Salt

Pepper

Taco Seasoning

Vanilla Extract

Almond Extract

Onion Soup Mix

Cocoa

Dehydrated Onions

Dry Mustard

Dill

Nutmeg

Allspice

Paprika

Oregano

Italian Seasoning

Parsely

Basil

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I don't know if I will buy all of those this month because spices are not cheap, but I will try to get some of them. I already bought all the salt I need for my family for one year. When buying spices, buy in bulk to lower your price, especially on things like salt.