When I picked a jar of smoked paprika out of the spice drawer in our New York apartment and noticed a sticker that read “Best before 2/2007,” I realized I had, as they say, an opportunity for improvement. Our spice drawer was a messy jumble of mismatched jars and tins, most of which I had no recollection of buying, and almost none of which bore any expiration date. In addition, a shelf in a nearby cupboard was full of bagged spices, mostly of more recent vintages, but, again, with no proof of age. As the snow, sleet and slush bogged down the City this week, I decided to turn this sorry state of domestic affairs into a foul weather project.
For the containers, I took the advice of Deb Perelman of the excellent food blog Smitten Kitchen. She recommends the Libbey Vibe glass spice containers (one assumes in spite of their dorky name), and that’s all I needed to know. I placed an order for 24 of the 4.5 oz containers on Amazon.com ($21.95 per dozen) and picked up a couple of the matching 12 and 27 ounce containers at the Container Store for larger spices like cinnamon sticks and bay leaves, and things I like to keep handy in larger quantities like peppercorns and cumin. (Amazon has all sizes of the Vibe at much lower prices than the Container Store, particularly if you take advantage of their Super Saver shipping program.)
For the spices, I headed to one of my favorite places on earth, Kalustyans, the amazing source for spices and other rare ingredients in New York’s Murray Hill neighborhood, which also has an excellent online store at www.kalustyans.com. (Sometimes I go there just to cheer myself up.) The selection and quality are better, and the prices lower, than buying spices in jars at supermarkets. My trusty label maker allowed me to identify the bottles. (Clear labels are prettier, but difficult for my middle-aged eyes to read.)
I think the rule of thumb is that you shouldn’t keep spices for more than a year, but that’s not realistic for me. There are many spices that I don’t use up in a year, and tossing them seems wasteful. More than two years, though, is probably too long, particularly for grounds spices. To prolong their life, I just grind a bit at a time, keeping most of my stock in whole form.
To keep track of freshness, I stuck a label on the bottom of each jar showing the month and year I bought the spice.
And on the bags of back stock.
I’ve ordered 12 more jars today.
