Quote:
Originally Posted by retiredguy123
I once read in a cookbook, that if you have spices that are more than a year old, you should throw them out. I never followed that advice and wonder if anyone else does.
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Some (not all) dried herbs and spices will a lot of their potency after being open for a year and they should be tossed (or try using 1 1/4 times the amount called for). I think that some herbs/spices like 'bay leaves' left over from WWII would still be okay LOL, as would other spices like dried mustard powder and poppy seeds for example
I try to purchase the smallest container possible if it's a dried herb or spice that we don't use a lot
A tip we picked up along the way is that dried spices and herbs should be stored as far away from the stove as possible in the dark, never on the back of the stove above the dials (like I used to because it was handy) ...the heat from the stove will greatly reduce their potency in a matter of weeks
we grow and use a lot of fresh herbs whenever possible...(I use the electric hedge clipper on our rosemary bush)...chives do well outdoors in TV (but need a lot of water)...sage does well, oregano thrives, as does basil. Parsley seems to attract too many leaf eating bugs in TV, so we've given up on that and for some reason thyme seems to always be just too leggy, so we buy those fresh at the market. We use a lot of fennel / fennel seeds...we've had some success growing the wild fennel, but not like we did up north