Dried herb and spice storage solutions

[tommy]

on the Overstocking thread, i mentioned that i have lots of dried herbs and spices. they are stored on two shelves in the kitchen, which presents a problem as it's a pain to find anything.

melkor, on that thread, smartly suggests using a big drawer for the stuff, with labels on top of each jar. i don't have a drawer like that.

how does everyone keep their spices and herbs in order?

[Anna N]

Just fighting with that problem now. Have TONS of them and can never find the one I want - new system - GLADWARE flat containers, labelled on the front and stacked! I try to keep the goods in their original packages or in plastic bags to make them a bit more "airtight". Makes more sense to me than silly little bottles. Until I started using so many and SO MUCH, I went with the flat watch case in aluminum boxes, fifteen spices to a box and then stack the boxes - works only if you use miniscule quantities of each spice.

Anna N

[bloviatrix]

I took the shallow cover of a heavy duty cardboard box and created channels down the length. I then put all the jars in alphabetical order down the channels. I keep the box on a shelf in one of my cabinets and slide it out as needed.

A friend of mine owns a plastics fabrication company and I plan on having him make me one that is somewhat sturdier and easier to clean.

[Anna N]

Just fighting with that problem now. Have TONS of them and can never find the one I want - new system - GLADWARE flat containers, labelled on the front and stacked! I try to keep the goods in their original packages or in plastic bags to make them a bit more "airtight". Makes more sense to me than silly little bottles. Until I started using so many and SO MUCH, I went with the flat watch case in aluminum boxes, fifteen spices to a box and then stack the boxes - works only if you use miniscule quantities of each spice.

Anna N

[tommy]

fifi has suggested using small plastic bins from the Container Store.

i found these ridiculously inexpensive plastic bins. i might buy a few.

[guajolote]

I just moved all of mine to a corner cabinet Lazy Susan. I put the tall bottles near the center and the short ones on the outside. It has worked well so far.

Also, if I can't remeber the last time I used something I throw it away.

[Priscilla]

I have mine in a bus tray that slides on a shelf so the effect is quite drawerlike. Wish I HAD a designated drawer, but this ain't bad, plus I can remove the whole thing to the table and root around freely.

(Addition: With smaller sub-bins dividing the contents of the bus tray, not unlike the Container Store ones in the above hot link.)

Also, ruthlessly chuck duplicates, olds, poxy blends, etc. Don't even both with some, such as dried parsley, except MAYBE for sausage making.

Refresh and Simplify™.

Edited October 14, 2003 by Priscilla (log)

[tommy]

i'm thinking of labeling the tops. seems that those yellow or orange round stickers would do the job nicely. perhaps one color for herbs and another for spices, although i've got them on two separate shelves to begin with.

and you're right priscilla. every now and again i go throw and chuck dups, and old stuff. i had 2 big things of paprika just today. threw a full one out.

Edited October 14, 2003 by tommy (log)

[Priscilla]

and you're right priscilla.  every now and again i go throw and chuck dups, and old stuff.  i had 2 big things of paprika just today.  threw a full one out.

Thank you Tommy. Aaah isn't it nice to Refresh and Simplify™?

Is it worth mentioning I label the tops of the jars whose tops are what I see in my aforementioned bus tray? A small thing but easy to do and nice. Only I use pink round stickers -- herbs, spices, whatevah. All pink, all the time.

Edited October 14, 2003 by Priscilla (log)

[tejon]

I will admit my herbs and spices are the least organized thing in my kitchen, which is a crying shame. No real room for them, so the ones I use most often are all shoved in a cabinet next to the stove, each vying for attention every time I cook, while bags of spices (mostly whole) fill a drawer several feet away. Somehow, I know what I have for the most part and where to find everything, but I have an excellent memory for foodstuffs in my kitchen (I could list everything in my refrigerator/freezer right now without looking).

I keep planning to buy empty spice jars, label them, and arrange them nicely, but it hasn't happened yet. I do have several labeled jars that I routinely fill with spices from larger bags (I buy a lot of spices in bulk at a local Indian market), but many odd unlabeled bags as well. My dream is to have a kitchen with an entire door, covered in tiny shelves for my spices and herbs. Some day.

[snowangel]

I store mine in a narrow, deep cupboard and swear everytime I need to find something at the back of the cupboard as I have to unload just about everything.

I, too, keep meaning to organize the thing, or at least figure out a better way to organize them in that horrible cupboard.

[Suzanne F]

I find that keeping an inventory inside the door to the cabinet where I keep the less-used stuff is a big help. Especially since I've got a 32-bottle rack, plus a 2-tier lazy susan out on the counter, AND 2 shelves in a small cabinet. Unlike Jinmyo, though, I only update officially once a month.

ALSO: This is not an endorsement, simply a posting as a public service:

Just got a catalogue from Spices etc., with a 24-jar spice rack. You can buy just the rack, without their spices. Looks like the jars are a fairly standard size, so you could probably used your own. Mountable on the wall, and probably also on a cabinet door.

[babyluck]

I keep planning to buy empty spice jars, label them, and arrange them nicely, but it hasn't happened yet. I do have several labeled jars that I routinely fill with spices from larger bags (I buy a lot of spices in bulk at a local Indian market), but many odd unlabeled bags as well.

That's what I did. I got some of these bottles from americanspice.com and printed out labels for every spice I own and could imagine owning in the future on weatherproof Avery labels on the laser printer at work. The 32 oz. chef size is perfect for all the small bags of grains I had around. I took the assorted bags of seasonings from various markets and filled an 8 oz. bottle with each, then took whatever didn't fit to a cooking buddy of mine. I figured I would never use it all anyway before it went stale.

I got one of those plastic expandable things with 3 shelves from BB&B for the shelf above the sink where I keep my everyday favorites, then a shelf in the island with the 32 oz. bottles & things I don't use much of.

What an improvement. I am a huge slob, but now I am so enamored with my system that I relish putting things back in their rightful place. I have conquered the piles of unlabeled bags and feel that my spices are safe and happy. The only problem is that americanspice doesn't sell empty 8 oz. amber plastic bottles, just clear, even though they package some of their spices in amber. Boston round amber glass bottles are available, but not as good for dry stuff. Now I just have to make labels for the stuff that I bought without knowing what it was that I've now identified, like the safflower. And I still have a busload of hyssop to get rid of...

P.S. Buy a lot more empties than you think you'll need. I bought at least 2x what I thought and I'm down to the wire, so I won't let myself buy any bulk spices/grains. Another order from americanspice of empties would be a clear tip-off that I'm just trying to facilitate my addiction. Of course, I'm also out of room in the cabinets.

[skmcdade]

Depends on how much I keep on hand -- smaller amounts go in Tupperware spice containers (well, the bigger ones actually hold 1 cup, which is quite a bit), and those are stored on a Tupperware 2-tier carousel. If it's a larger amount I sometimes use Tupperware Modular mates Oval 1 and store it in the cupboard with the baking stuff. This is good for, say, cinnamon or chili powder if you use them a lot. I put my salt in a Modular container too, so that I can scoop it instead of pouring it (all over the place).

[torakris]

This is the way anal retentive former librarian Kristin does it.

Since most of my stuff it bought from Penzey's I have a lot of bags, so most things in baskets according to type of cooking. For example I have an Indian basket, South East Asian basket, American-European basket and a baking basket (with baking powder and sodas, vanilla and almond extracts, gelatin, agar agar, matcha powder, etc), then when I am cooking I just pull out the basket and everything is right there. Some misc. spices that rarely get used or are used in a variety of types of cooking go on a slide out shelf in my storage cupboard. I keep my "spicey" things (crushed chile peppers, cayenne, chile oil, sansho, etc) on a rack of the door of the storage cabinet for easy access.

I just took some pictures but don't have time to set them up now, so I will add them later.

[Jinmyo]

I keep dried spices, chiles, and herbs in mason jars in two cupboards. They have those labelgun labels and are in alphabetical order. Which is not so helpful really when I ask someone for an Indian spice or a latino chile. So I usually just put the mixing bowl or whatever on the counter under the cupboard and dump stuff in from there.

When something is getting low, it gets written on a whiteboard, added to the inventory/shopping list, loaded onto a PalmPilot, purchased, then refills go behind the appropriate jar.

I need to buy Sichuan peppercorns and Coleman's mustard powder.

[Mottmott]

First I'd like to say that I don't think plastic jars, etc. really keep things airtight. Yes, I know that defies logic. But when I used a bunch of glass and plastic jars (both with metal lids) to store oil paints, the ones in plastic dried out, but the ones in glass remained fresh. Surprised me, I confess.

I keep my spices on a 5' wide but not very deep shelf of one of those old built in kitchen cabinets. I have some shallow wire shelf racks on feet strung across the back, doubling the space, with a rubbermade double shelf lazy suzan in the middle. Liquids such as vanilla, liqueurs, special sauces live on the shelf above that. It's a jungle in there, but it has a kind of ecological logic: understory and canopy with microclimates loosely characterized by those that are mostly used in savory foods in one area, herbs clustered together, then those that are likely to be used in sweets.

I buy loose bulk spices either from Penzey's or the food coop and keep everything in jars or metal cans.

I have a bunch of different sized jars ranging from baby food jars I scrounged from my DIL's (some of the organic ones have screw tops) to half pint and even pint widemouth canning jars. I save more interesting shaped jars that come with jam, honey, etc., and amber glass jars from vitamins. I keep most herbs either in the amber jars or in metal cannisters (from D&D's or some old tins from tea, etc.) It's not as chaotic as it may sound as I tend to keep things in the same place all the time and having things in all these different shaped containers makes it easier to keep track of what's in a jar even without reading the label. Also, the different sized jars and tins accommodate the different amounts of herbs and spices.

I label things with little stick on Avery labels that I hand write.

I also like the square glass jars from Target to hold flours, sugar, beans, etc. They come in 2 sizes; the larger ones will hold a 5 lb bag of flour or sugar.

[Suzanne F]

Jinmyo: are whole Sichuan peppercorns available up there? Lucky you. I think we're not allowed to have them down here. I've been hoarding mine, I'm afraid to the point where they're useless.

[fifi]

First I'd like to say that I don't think plastic jars, etc. really keep things airtight.  Yes, I know that defies logic.

You are absolutely right. Plastic is permeable to varying degrees depending upon the plastic. For instance, the Tones containers are made of PET and may be specially treated to further reduce permeability. For home purposes, glass is the best bet. It isn't a matter of being air tight but allowing the aromatics from herbs and such to permeat out. My sister once flavored her whole freezer with dill when she put up a bunch from her dill crop in Sears polyethylene containers in the freezer. I use the small jelly jars to freeze pestos, Kaffir lime leaves, bay leaves, whatever.

[torakris]

Let's see if these pictures work:

the cupboard

a peek in the boxes

It normally isn't this messy, I swear!

[_john]

I am not a fan of most spice storage devices. The are either poorly designed, bulky, or expensive. my current system is leaving the spices the way i get them: in the plastic bags with twist ties on them from the bulk spices place. at this point i have 20+ plastic bags just sitting on a shelf. I am looking for a better solution but I have some strict criteria: no clear glass (light degrades spices over time), the containers must have wide mouths, straight sides, and tight fitting lids. They must be easy to label or have some sort of "window" to see what the spice is without having to pick it up. I would also like the containers to be fairly large, in spice rack terms, 1cup would be pretty good. It would be best if the containers were under $2 a piece as well. Does anyone know something that fits this description or can point me to a good discussion of spice storage options?

[Rachel Perlow]

I think these Seamless Tins are exactly what you are looking for. Invest in a Brother Label maker and you're all set.

Click here to see how Martha Stewart used them (or something very similar). Her's seem to be the 4 oz tins.

[Dr. Funk]

Fine, but what about those of us who have 10 different ground chiles and then we start getting into the herbs and spices. I started figuring out what I'd need and decided to keep everything in ziplocks.

[ladyyoung98]

much as u may not want to hear this one..im a big fan of spice racks..currently i own five of them and i still have herbs and spices that need to be put away...i know u said nothing glass and gave reasons why....however for the size requirement u r lookign for..the only thing i can think of is mason jars..which to my knowledge r all clear....but im thinking that if u store them in a dark pantry that might soelve that problem to some degree.....if there is another solution to ur dilema...then perhaps there is another answer out there

[Daddy-A]

I think these Seamless Tins are exactly what you are looking for. Invest in a Brother Label maker and you're all set.

Click here to see how Martha Stewart used them (or something very similar). Her's seem to be the 4 oz tins.

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Another way I like to use them is to add some magentic tape to the bottom of each tin. A section of metal on the backsplash and you have a convenient storage place for as many tins as you need.

If you're looking for tins with see-through lids, look for something called jewellers or watchmakers cases. Lee Valley has them in various sizes.

A.