Carla Hall's Trick To Avoid Using Expired Herbs And Spices

How to stop your spices from rapidly expiring

There are various strategies to maintain the freshness of your herbs and spices throughout their lifespan, from the moment you purchase them to how you store and use them later. Whenever possible, opt for whole spices instead of their ground counterparts for better longevity. This means choosing cinnamon sticks instead of ground cinnamon, a whole nutmeg instead of ground nutmeg, and so forth. If you do decide to buy ground spices, aim for the smallest quantity available—this way, you can use it all up before it has a chance to go stale.

Once you have your spices, store them in a cool, dark place, away from your oven, stovetop, or sunny shelves. According to Carla Hall, dried herbs can last about two years in a dark, dry, unheated area, while spices can last up to three years. However, it can be hard to remember when you opened that jar of basil, especially if it was two years ago. Hall suggests marking the date on the lid of the container as soon as you open it. Additionally, many of us tend to discard the extra foil or paper layer that comes under the cap of a new spice jar, but Hall advises keeping it, as it helps preserve the freshness of the contents.

Hall also offers a cooking tip to keep your spices fresh. Instead of shaking, sprinkling, and seasoning your dish directly over the heat, measure out your spices beforehand, away from the heat source. When you work over the stove, steam and heat can enter the spice jar, accelerating the expiration of its contents.