The Mennobrarian

More notes from a small kitchen...

04:01, Monday, December 3, 2007 .. Posted in Homemaking .. 0 comments .. Link

One of my peculiarities is that I am a stickler for food quality. I like things fresh and tasty, and this works out well in a small house. Since we have no room for enormous freezers packed with food from who-knows-when, we eat what we buy, and we do so in a timely manner. You can ask my husband about my "Just because it's frozen doesn't mean it's good forever" speech. Or just visit my link on food shelf life to see what I am talking about. Because of our limited cabinet space, I make an effort to make sure food items are rotated and eaten before they expire. My husband arrived in our marriage with a bounty of soon-to-expire canned goods. I even care about spices. If there are spices in your cabinet that you can't actually remember buying, aren't sure of their age, and are infrequently used, you should ask yourself the following questions:

Am I The Mennobrarian's mother?

and

How long are these good for?

Because, my mother has spices in her cabinet that are so old they may have been gifted by an Old Testament prophet. Seriously, I have been seeing some of these spices in their original containers since birth. Many have long lost their potency. It can happen to anyone. We tend to see condiments as eternal, but the truth is, they don't last forever. Free up some space in your kitchen by conducting a spice audit!

The following last for a long time, up to 4 years, if stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place: Cloves, cumin, cardamon, whole peppercorns, nutmegs, and cinnamon sticks.

Herbs lose their flavor faster and only last 1-3 years. If they have lost their color and have no or very little smell when you crush them in your hand, they won't really serve their purpose anymore in your cooking.

Store paprika and chili powder in the refrigerator.

Finally, if some of those ancient spices are made by McCormick, they have set up a fun web page here where you can enter the code on the package to find out how old your McCormick spice product is if there is no expiration date.
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