Dried Herb and Spice Storage Solutions

[weinoo]

And to confuse matters further, the saffron jar on the top left-ish part of my photo; that never held saffron - I think it's got dried rosemary in it. On the right hand side of same photo, there are at least 4 containers with saffron from 4 different regions.

[JAZ]

Way back when this topic was first started, we were redoing our kitchen. Before that, we had a cabinet next to the stove dedicated to spices, with a 2-tier turntable on the upper shelf, and a stepped rack on the lower. In addition, we had a shallow rack on the inside of the door to hold 4 or 5 jars of spices that we used the most. It was not ideal.

 

When we remodeled, we bought the pull-out shelves mentioned by @kaybback then (that might even be where we first saw them). (Here's a link: https://www.verticalspice.com/products.php?product=222x2x11-Spice-Rack-Drawer-%2d-Cream). As she said, they are expensive (although they seem to have gone up in price -- we paid a bit less). We bought one and liked it so much we bought another for the other shelf. This is what they look like in our kitchen:

 

 

 

The company makes a single pull-out shelf and it would have fit next to the larger ones, but we decided that the extra spaces was better served holding odd-shaped, larger containers. While the shelves were pretty expensive, they were one of the best investments we made in the new kitchen. You can't tell from the photos, but the black bands that hold the jars in place are elasticized, so it's really easy to remove and replace the jars (even on the top shelves). Each set of three shelves holds 30 jars --more if they're small and you stack them.

 

Our problem was that we buy most of our spices in bulk bags and transfer to the jars as needed. We were keeping the back-up bags in drawers in the living room bookcases, which serve as our back-up pantry. When it was just a few, it was pretty easy to keep track, but lately, it has gotten out of hand. So we bought a couple of baskets to hold the bags, and now they're much more manageable.

 

 

They're in alphabetical order now, although I can't guarantee they will stay that way. We still have a few strays in the drawer above -- mostly small bags and jars that were free samples from Penzey's, where we buy a lot of our spices.

 

 

 

The last thing I did to make it all more manageable was to create a spread sheet of the jars and bags so we know what we have.

 

Oh, and the only spices that aren't in the cabinet are salt and pepper (black and white). We keep them on the counter on the other side of the stove.

 

 

So far it's worked quite well, and I think the new baskets and spreadsheet will help solve the minor problems we had.

 

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, JAZ said:

Our problem was that we buy most of our spices in bulk bags and transfer to the jars as needed. We were keeping the back-up bags in drawers in the living room bookcases, which serve as our back-up pantry.

 

A woman after my own heart.

 

[TdeV]

@JAZ, that's a big backup supply! Do you worry about the ground spices going stale?

(When I have old spices, I just use more of it. Not sure if I should, though).

[JAZ]

@TdeV, the bags reseal quite well, and we try to squeeze as much air out as possible, plus the drawer where they live is dark and pretty cool, so I think that helps. But we don't buy bags of everything -- just the spices we use a lot. Also, you can't see this, but many of the bags contain whole spices -- cumin, caraway seeds, fennel seeds, and peppercorns. So overall, we've found that they keep pretty well. Finally, Penzey's seems to pack very fresh spices. I don't think I'd want the typical jar from the supermarket to sit around as long.

[AlaMoi]

Host's note: This post and several responses were moved from the topic Worst Kitchen Product Ideas - v.2024, which is the source of references to blinking lights and computer codes.

 

 

hee-hee!  I don't "stock" per se "mixes/blends" - DW has been known to buy stuff like "Italian seasoning" - but I prefer to portion out the individual 'stuff' meself. 

 

86 is a good number!  I like it!  spice on!

 

we're not fans of highly spiced/hot spiced dishes, hence many of the 20-alarm bottles don't get a bed in my cabinet.

but, , , , we survive . . . . 

some special stuff get purchased 'per dish' - shichimi togarashi is one.  little vial.... used lately "post original need" in a stir fry . . .

oh boy.... it is really hot - future use will be only in mini-pinches!

 

I have a vial of saffron for "Amish Chicken Corn Chowder" - now . . . . that's a contradiction in existence, because the Amish are very thrifty and would never be buying saffron threads . . . . for anything . . .

Edited June 14, 2024 by Smithy
Added host's note (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

4 minutes ago, AlaMoi said:

DW has been known to buy stuff like "Italian seasoning"

I make my own only because I like instant gratification and I've developed a darn good Italians seasoning mix. That the only mix that I don't make myself is Herbs de Provence because I can't find lavender.

 

6 minutes ago, AlaMoi said:

hence many of the 20-alarm bottles don't get a bed in my cabinet.

I don't have anything either that is very hot. The only thing that I have is some new Mexican chili powder which I have to be kind of careful with.

 

7 minutes ago, AlaMoi said:

I have a vial of saffron

I forgot about my saffron and when I went to look for it I realized I have another cabinet with about 20 other spices such as asafran, achiote, three types of mustard seed, Goya Sazón, Etc.

I wish we hadn't started this. I can see a project in my future of spice reorganization.

[Laurentius]

Spice bottles and holders have always been a racket.  To do it House Beautiful, you'd need 10 matching racks and 150 matching bottles.  And they should be hidden in the dark anyway!

 

I long ago got a dozen smaller cheap plastic tubs, and labeled them alphabetically, plus extras for salts, peppers, vinegars, rubs, oils, etc.  Everything--bags, bottles, tins, jars--gets tossed inside.  If I'm feeling fancy, a magic marker records the purchase date. 

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

The only spice  racks that I have in my kitchen sitting out are these two.

This is one that my husband made for me about 25 years ago.

These are the shelves of a butcher table that he also made.

Only the spices that I use most often are here. My bottom cupboards are extremely deep, Costa Rican Style. I bought a whole bunch of cheap cake pans about 14x18 inches and everything that I have is in those pans so that I can use them as slide-out drawers. I have one cabinet that just has spices. All the bottles are labeled on the top so that I can just look down on them and choose what I need. I also have all my flavorings and food color in these. The rest of my spices are in the refrigerator or freezer because in this climate they go stale fast.

I couldn't even imagine trying to cook with one or even two computerized racks. Although I did have one friend that only cooked with salt and pepper. She didn't believe in herbs or spices. Lunch at her house was always very boring.

Edited June 13, 2024 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[weinoo]

 

Does one really need more spices than this? (OK, I have a Cambro each for Thai food, Indian food, and Japanese food. They may hold some cuisine specific spices).

 

That pic is from a couple of years ago; I now have at least a dozen Burlap & Barrel things too.

 

 

Oy.

[KennethT]

On 6/13/2024 at 7:18 PM, weinoo said:

 

 

OK, I have a Cambro each for Thai food, Indian food, and Japanese food. They may hold some cuisine specific spices.

 

What do you do for the overlap?  I don't know much about Japanese food, but there's definitely some spices used in both Thai and Indian foods.

[Laurentius]

On 6/13/2024 at 4:18 PM, weinoo said:

Does one really need more spices than this?

 

My, that's pretty and organized.

 

I have to ask, though...  Did you buy all these bottles at once, or did you settle early on one brand/format, and just keep adding?  Or--more like me--did you change formats/racks several times along the way to make things uniform?

Edited June 17, 2024 by Laurentius
Redundancy. (log)

[weinoo]

On 6/15/2024 at 9:23 AM, KennethT said:

What do you do for the overlap?  I don't know much about Japanese food, but there's definitely some spices used in both Thai and Indian foods.

 

To be honest, I wasn't thinking about overlap as I bought spices for each cuisine, but now that I've had them for a while, the stuff that gets used more frequently is in the shared space. Also, to be honest-er,  a lot of the ingredients I bought for Thai and Indian cookery were bought during the crazy-er pandemic times, when I wanted to cook stuff that we couldn't go out for. My more "normal" cooking style is Italian, French, Spanish...along those lines. Mediterranean + Middle Eastern, if you will.  Then, Chinese and Japanese, whose common ingredients have always been in shared, more accessible space. 

 

On 6/16/2024 at 11:11 PM, Laurentius said:

 

My, that's pretty and organized.

 

I have to ask, though...  Did you buy all these bottles at once, or did you settle early on one brand/format, and just keep adding?  Or--more like me--did you change formats/racks several times along the way to make things uniform?

 

Much of the Penzey's stuff was bought at the same time; every year or so, I restock the dried herbs and ground spices, and I like Penzey's for that.  As can be seen in this more current spice drawer picture, some Burlap & Barrel has entered the fray, either gifted to me or purchased as one-offs.  Also a bunch of different saffrons in the lower right, and the rectangular boxes are 3 different styles of pimentón, recently refreshed when we went to Spain in December!

 

[C. sapidus]

Ikea over-counter cabinets with spice bottles on stair-step shelves. White bins above hold bulk spices and dried chiles. Bins for dedicated Indian or SE Asian spices are in another cabinet.

 

 

Originally we just used wood blocks to hold up the stair-step shelves, but apparently I drilled extra holes for shelf pegs. Must have been some time ago because I don't actually remember doing that.

 

Edited June 20, 2024 by C. sapidus (log)

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

When we bought our house 13 years ago, I was delighted to find 2 tall cabinets (95cm x 32cm) with removable glass shelves on either side of the stove. The shelves are 2 jars deep, which makes it easy to find what I need. (Would someone please give a medal to the person who realized that square jars are better than round ones!) Baking items and larger jars for things like caraway seeds are stored in one cabinet and savory herbs, etc., are in the other. The doors keep out light, but probably it is a little warmer than desirable because of the location near the stove. The only problem was that whoever drilled the holes for the pegs that hold the shelves drilled them just a teensy bit too big. So once I decided on the spacing, we glued them in place. I buy much of my herbs and spices from Penzeys, of course, but locally there's a bulk store in nearby Morelia that has an impressive amount of herbs/spices. Unfortunately they only sell them in 100gr. amounts. So the overflow goes into the freezer. I'm still working my way through the thyme--just hope it doesn't get lost in the freezer. I grow my own basil so that's one I don't have to buy.

[Katie Meadow]

Over a lifetime of cooking I've collected enough spice jars so that I can buy my spices in paper packets ("refills") and rarely need to buy anything in little bottles. This saves money, and my spice source is high quality and local, which helps. Needless to say the spice bottles are not "matchy matchy." One benefit for me is that the lids vary in color, so I've accumulated jars with red, black, white and blue tops. My spices are mostly in four shelves, each about 2 jars deep. Each shelf houses jars with one color, loosely organized by use. This is the only way my husband knows where to put back any given spice once he's removed it from the shelf. I use a labeler, since years of washing out jars makes them appear tidy and clean, without funky paper labels.

 

Just curious: I looked at the Penzey's website and see no indication that spices can be bought without bottles. packets Do any online spice purveyors offer 2 - 4 oz packets w/o bottles? 

 

Shout-out to @weinoo: I'm impressed you have saffrons, i.e. more than one kind.

 

Oh, my one regret is that spice bottles have not typically been square.

[weinoo]

3 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

Just curious: I looked at the Penzey's website and see no indication that spices can be bought without bottles. packets Do any online spice purveyors offer 2 - 4 oz packets w/o bottles? 

 

Penzey's does - see this page...https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/french-tarragon/c-24/p-816/pd-s

 

 

[Dave the Cook]

1 hour ago, Katie Meadow said:

Just curious: I looked at the Penzey's website and see no indication that spices can be bought without bottles. packets Do any online spice purveyors offer 2 - 4 oz packets w/o bottles? 

 

Not to pile on, but most of what we buy from Penzey's comes in bags:175 ml, 350 ml and, depending on the spice, 700 ml bags.  Those might be larger than you want (3/4 C of ground spice is going to be somewhere around 3 to 4 ounces by weight), but almost everything they sell is available in this format.

[blue_dolphin]

2 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

Just curious: I looked at the Penzey's website and see no indication that spices can be bought without bottles. packets Do any online spice purveyors offer 2 - 4 oz packets w/o bottles? 

 

In addition to Penzey's (3/4 cup bag of cinnamon is 2.6 oz, though the different spices vary) Spice House also offers small bags of most of their spices and as an added perk, those bags always ship for free, with no minimum, a nice perk if you only need a couple of things. 

[Laurentius]

3 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Spice House also offers small bags of most of their spices

 

Market Spice in Seattle sells packets on line.  Est. 1911.  https://marketspice.com/

 

Penzey's though they'd do well opening a store 2 blocks away.  Didn't work out that way.

[Tropicalsenior]

13 minutes ago, Laurentius said:

Market Spice in Seattle sells packets on line.  Est. 1911.  https://marketspice.com/

You beat me to it. I was just looking at their website. I've been relying on them for spices for 48 years. All the time that I lived in Seattle and now when my grandson comes down here I always place an order from Marketspice. I do miss going there in person. Just to walk in there, the aroma put you right in heaven.

[Laurentius]

8 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Just to walk in there, the aroma put you right in heaven.

 

Absolutely.  As you know, their store in Pike Place Market is quite small, but they more than make up for that with their vast selection and fresh product. 

[Tropicalsenior]

15 minutes ago, Laurentius said:

As you know, their store in Pike Place Market is quite small

No visit to the Pike Place Market was ever complete without a visit to Marketspice. The aroma of their tea mixes and the tea that they offered always hit the spot. If there's one place that I miss most in Seattle, it is the Pike Place Market.

[liuzhou]

I try not to store spices; or, at least not for long. Most that I can want and get are sold in resealable 15g or 50g bags from a high turnover store. The once exception was coriander seed which until recently I could only buy imported and came in 500g packs. In just the last few months, I have found them in 15g bags, too.

 

The idea of year-old or more spices does not appeal, at all. I never use dried herbs other than bay leaf which again come in 15g packs.

 

Edited June 23, 2024 by liuzhou (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Most of mine are in a drawer, stored upright. There is some excess in an adjacent drawer, and a couple of taller bottles on a shelf.

 

When i run out of space it is usually time to either make a dish that uses a lot of them (curry, etc) or throw away the ones that are past their useful life.