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Dried Herb and Spice Storage Solutions

tommy

By tommy
in Kitchen Consumer

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rarerollingobject

rarerollingobject

Posted
Posted

I have something similar to these:

http://www.amazon.com/Piece-Magnetic-Spice-Rack-Decanters/dp/B001QSALF4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299607474&sr=8-1

---literally 135 of them stuck on the side of my refrigerator. They are magnetic on the back. The edge of the lid screws around to expose a slot for pouring or some holes for sprinkling. Or you can of course take the lid off for measuring. The whole lot is alphabetized, I find that's easier than dividing spices up into categories. I've used a labelmaker to label each one across the front. The capacity of each can is 4 ounces, so I try to only buy what will fit in the can so I don't have bags everywhere.

This is my solution too, but the tins run pretty expensive (I've seen them in Australia for AUD$75 for 6!!) so I came up with a cheap hack; ordered a case of 50 glass-topped bomboniere tins from a wedding supply store for something like $20 (like these), and some rare earth magnets from an electrical/hardware store. Didn't even require gluing the magnets onto the tins.

Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted

I have something similar to these:

http://www.amazon.com/Piece-Magnetic-Spice-Rack-Decanters/dp/B001QSALF4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299607474&sr=8-1

---literally 135 of them stuck on the side of my refrigerator. They are magnetic on the back. The edge of the lid screws around to expose a slot for pouring or some holes for sprinkling. Or you can of course take the lid off for measuring. The whole lot is alphabetized, I find that's easier than dividing spices up into categories. I've used a labelmaker to label each one across the front. The capacity of each can is 4 ounces, so I try to only buy what will fit in the can so I don't have bags everywhere.

................................

That's what I do. Mine are on the front of the fridge.

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Wholemeal Crank

Wholemeal Crank

Posted
Posted

I do this

3532768586_d28e207a89.jpg

Spices in their keepers

and this

3531951811_f9c447a67d.jpg

They're sorted by things I used together--spices for sweets, savory seeds, savory herbs, ground spices, oddballs. The baskets make them easy to grab & use.

Bulk bags from which those are refilled are in a pair of large tupperware bins in another cabinet.

(need to update those photos since I got a labeller and made the labels neater)

Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted

Here's the solution I built. Holds 56 spices, although right now my top shelf is in disarray. I'm using jars with a clear top so you can see how many are left, and I've got them in alphabetical order so it's super-easy to find whatever I'm looking for. It's definitely made a big difference in how often I use spices. When it was a pain to dig out a bag or bottle from who-knows-where, I sometimes just wouldn't bother. Now not only can I find them all, but I can also just look through and get new ideas from having everything right in front of me!

And no, my kitchen doesn't defy gravity. I can't figure out how to rotate the picture.

I would love to know where you bought the rectangular containers!

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

roygon

roygon

Posted
Posted

I bought a whole bunch of 4oz and 8oz square containers from this place:

http://www.specialtybottle.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=47

Under $1 each and they are food safe and block out light plus stack nicely. I'm not a big fan of tall, slender, glass spice containers. A pain for measuring and grabbing a pinch of something is easier when you can actually grab it...

This is all in theory though... I will be picking them up from the postal outlet this week. Will post a before and after pic

rg

peterm2

peterm2

Posted
Posted

I bought a whole bunch of 4oz and 8oz square containers from this place:

http://www.specialtybottle.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=47

Under $1 each and they are food safe and block out light plus stack nicely. I'm not a big fan of tall, slender, glass spice containers. A pain for measuring and grabbing a pinch of something is easier when you can actually grab it...

This is all in theory though... I will be picking them up from the postal outlet this week. Will post a before and after pic

rg

Yup I use the 4 oz version of those, which actually hold a surprising amount given that they don't look too big. The only issue I have with them is that the tops can be a bit of a pain to get back on, but most of the time they work fine. And it maximizes use of space when you line them up, and easy to get measuring spoons in them!

djyee100

djyee100

Posted
Posted

...I have absolutely no wall space in my kitchen - it's all covered with cabinets.

Same here. I keep my spices in clear shoe boxes, grouped alphabetically. More or less. All the spices are kept on a shelf in a cabinet.

SpiceContainers.jpg

I buy my spices in bulk at a local store, in small quantities. If I haven't bought too much, I can stuff the baggies in the small jars, which I buy separately. I reuse sturdy jam and jelly jars, too. Any extra spices are kept in a canister for refills.

If I had an extra shallow drawer to spare, I could use the shoe boxes like separators or trays. But I don't, so I stack them in the cabinet like this. Since they're alphabetical (more or less), I know which shoe box to aim for. BTW, I think storing the spices in a cool, dark cabinet keeps them fresh longer.

SpiceStack.jpg

The labels are very high-tech, masking tape & ballpoint pen.

Darienne

Darienne

Posted
Posted

I like the wire basket idea used by wholemealcrank. When we were in a rented condo in Moab with almost no cupboards, closets, etc,...I kept a lot of stuff on the top of the kitchen cabinets, such as they were. Mexican in one plastic basket, Chinese in another, chocolate in another. It was very handy. It was also very ugly. The baskets didn't match. Hey! We didn't 'live' there. The cupboard tops were very low. I didn't care what it looked like.

At home, our cupboards are too high for me to store such things safely, assuming I bought all matching containers. I have to stand on a stool to get anything down from there and a basket of any kind would be too dangerous. So my spices are all over the place, as is my entire kitchen. :wacko:

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope, always. 

cbread

cbread

Posted
Posted

I put spices in square glass jars in a drawer. I label the tops so I can read what's what easily without having to fiddle with them. The square shape keeps them oriented so the labels are always readable and the shape is space efficient. Bought at www.sunburstbottle.com I got the SQ190 bottles. I've been happy with them. There seem to be a couple of heights available in the square shape.

  • 7 years later...
Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted (edited)

 We have had a couple of topics before on this subject but most of them are now quite old and the links are no longer operating. Further, life has moved on and perhaps there are more interesting and efficient ways of storing a very large spice collection. 

 

 My spice storage is still the bane of my life. Despite many efforts to inventory it, tidy it up, find a new spot for it, find new containers for it I end up very often abandoning any idea of making a recipe simply because finding the spice might take me longer than making the damn recipe

 

 This was brought to mind this morning because I was forced by circumstances to order spices from a rather expensive source and they arrived like this:

 

D28D4BFC-857B-4592-8098-C9BE2C28689F.thumb.jpeg.9c7614035f8f1a258afabb3eeb38c619.jpegCFB62F9E-3254-4615-810D-F52B0A89CECE.thumb.jpeg.e1bb65f8bf1f545816de659c5e70161a.jpeg

 It occurred to me that this was a whole lot smarter than the normal round jar/bottle. But of course finding such containers would be very challenging and buying all my spices this way would put me into bankruptcy. 

 

 So is there anything new in the way of space storage that you know?  Are you frustrated? Have you come up with any brilliant solutions  that the rest of us have missed?  

Edited by Anna N
To add two photographs (log)

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

suzilightning

suzilightning

Posted
Posted

ohhhhhh......like that.

I have a small spice rack above the baking area of the kitchen for the spices I usually use - cinnamon, vanilla beans, vanilla extract, cloves, nutmegs with a grater among others as well as some other things like baking powder and baking soda.

I also have a pull out rack between the oven and fridge that has my usual suspects there.....

my dried mushrooms are in similar containers in the cupboards right above my small prep area.

Nothing is better than frying in lard.

Nothing.  Do not quote me on this.

 

Linda Ellerbee

Take Big Bites

lindag

lindag

Posted
Posted

My spices, which are mostly Penney’s 1/2 cup and a few 1/4 cup jars, are stored in a corner carousel cabinet or, for the most fragile and oft-used, in a closed bin in the fridge door (which I believe was originally intended for fresh fruit).

paulraphael

paulraphael

Posted
Posted

All in the freezer. When my freezer had shelves in the door, I put the bottles there. Now we have drawer-style freezers. I found plastic organization bins (Container store?) that fit the bottles fairly well, though not as convenient as the door shelves. between buying whole spices whenever possible and keeping them in cold storage, they stay much fresher. I alsways have a small mortar/pestle and microplane handy. 

  • Like 1

Notes from the underbelly

rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted

Im extremely fortunate that I have a chamber vac sealer w an oil pimp.

 

they bags are very cheap , and can be trimmed down etc.

 

I know very few people have something so fundamentally food-changing.

 

about a year ago , I realized I could get the herbs / spiced I wanted 

 

abd re-rebag them in these bags.  I would open one when I needed something  

 

and the reseal that same bag , as the ones I made are much taller than wide.  on purpose for this.

 

Ive wasted lots of herbs and spices over time as they get old , but I got a phenomenal deal buying So Much !

 

Idiot I am , for sure.   cheap is not the same as frugal.

 

I also love jarred flavorings , indian from Patak , curry tubs from here and there

 

you get the point.

 

Ive thrown out much of the stuff from the Last Century.

 

when I get a new jar of paste or what not that I know I will only occasionally use

 

I scoop it out , into a self made taller bag.

 

as there might be a smear of the stuff at the top of that bag , I put that bag in a larger taller bag

 

then seal the second bag , effectively.  I open the first bag , take out what I need from the first bag , and reseal the second bag.

 

this is for occasional stuff,

 

the herbs and spices I freeze , as I do the various pastes.

 

it seems like a lot of work , and I hope you get the idea

 

but any hobby is work , but this one is easy and I now, once I get all the new stuff done

 

won't have much to ever through away.

 

as I see before , Im blessed I was able to invest in a chamber vac sealer w an oil pump

 

this use is just an interesting aside , to me at least.

 

it paid for itself over and over again wi9th all the SV I do on the items I know i will use

 

and now I only get them on deep sale.

 

I started the spice/herb thing over a year ago w Bell's Seasoning , in the little yellow box w Tom the Turkey on the Front.

 

I use a lot of it for the gravy I make for both chicken and turkey.

 

the  vine. '17 is still gong strong !

 

 

  • Like 1
ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted (edited)

This is what I have.   The first two pull-outs are the same size and where the smaller jars go.  The spices are more or less in aphabetical order.  The third pull-out is wider and has three shelves rather than the four of the first two.  I use it for bigger jars and vinegars, soy sauce, and such.

20180325_133009.jpg

Edited by ElsieD
Added picture (log)
  • Like 8
FauxPas

FauxPas

Posted
Posted

I have very little cabinet space in this house so needed to find some solutions for spices. I have a couple of things that helped.

 

I bought one of these inexpensive little spice racks online and mounted it on the side of the end cabinet. It's good for commonly used items. IMG_20180325_105043.thumb.jpg.93190366994c9891c9765b5a98dc8d66.jpg.

 

And I bought an over-the-door storage unit from The Container Store's Elfa line. It holds a lot of stuff and can be customized with various-sized baskets. It sits on the pantry door, frees up a lot of shelf space and makes finding things easy. 

 

IMG_20180325_105302.thumb.jpg.00d41ff181be10989eb9ce1232469fff.jpg

 

And if I need to put spices in jars, I picked up a couple of dozen of these glass jars with spice lids at a local spice company. They weren't very expensive, less than a dollar each. 

 

IMG_20180325_105408.thumb.jpg.f76d2e40adf2a47ce66c2ac21d9a29cf.jpg

 

  • Like 6
FauxPas

FauxPas

Posted
Posted
37 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

This is what I have.   The first two pull-outs are the same size and where the smaller jars go.  The spices are more or less in aphabetical order.  The third pull-out is wider and has three shelves rather than the four of the first two.  I use it for bigger jars and vinegars, soy sauce, and such.

 

 

Those are some beautiful pull-outs, @ElsieD! If I ever get around to replacing these cabinets (and they should really be replaced, they are so old), I would love to have a solution like yours. 

  • Like 3
JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, FauxPas said:

I have very little cabinet space in this house so needed to find some solutions for spices. I have a couple of things that helped.

 

I bought one of these inexpensive little spice racks online and mounted it on the side of the end cabinet. It's good for commonly used items. IMG_20180325_105043.thumb.jpg.93190366994c9891c9765b5a98dc8d66.jpg.

 

And I bought an over-the-door storage unit from The Container Store's Elfa line. It holds a lot of stuff and can be customized with various-sized baskets. It sits on the pantry door, frees up a lot of shelf space and makes finding things easy. 

 

IMG_20180325_105302.thumb.jpg.00d41ff181be10989eb9ce1232469fff.jpg

 

 

I love the idea of door storage!

 

  • Like 4

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

FauxPas

FauxPas

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I love the idea of door storage!

 

 

It works really well! Of course, you need a door near your kitchen for this option.  :)

JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

It works really well! Of course, you need a door near your kitchen for this option.  :)

 

I was thinking the bedroom door...bathroom is too moist.

 

  • Like 1

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

FauxPas

FauxPas

Posted
Posted
10 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I was thinking the bedroom door...bathroom is too moist.

 

 

You could put it over the door so it faces outward, I don't think it has to go on the inside. 

 

 

rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted

so many wonderful systems

 

Im not trying to be flippant :

 

Spice.thumb.jpg.2e71e1bddc3cb67138b0cc6d9669c118.jpg

 

Penzey's Turkish Oregano , 8 0z / bag , divvied up 

 

and Bells ' , ' 17

 

and no , I have not done it right :  B '17 is in the freezer .

 

while TO for some reason is on the counter.

 

if you are able to slowly move in this direction ,

 

give it some thought

 

that bins said :

 

The Sirens are singing their song 

 

( they always do )

 

they are singing :  

 

"  FC  , in your basement !  $ 200 , free delivery , to your very basement !  Right Now ! "

 

Ill wait for a sale.

Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted

 Well from what I see nothing much has changed in all the intervening years. @JoNorvelleWalker‘s link is ~15 years old!  

 

 Seems that efficient, affordable and compact spice storage has not caught the imagination of innovators. 

 

  • Like 1

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Anna N said:

 Well from what I see nothing much has changed in all the intervening years. @JoNorvelleWalker‘s link is ~15 years old!  

 

 Seems that efficient, affordable and compact spice storage has not caught the imagination of innovators. 

 

 

By my count the link is a month old to the day.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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