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HOW TO STORE DRIED HERBS AND SPICES
"A QUESTION I get asked a lot on my show is how to store dried herbs and spices. Both herbs and spices should be kept in a cool dark place, preferably a closed cupboard or drawer. They will last for about six months, depending on how long they were sitting on the shelf before you purchased them. You can tell by their color how fresh they are. Dried herbs go from green to gray as they age; dried spices also fade in color. (For example, paprika and cayenne should look red, not brown.) What happens after six months? It is not like spices and herbs go bad and will harm you; they just lose flavor, and it will take more of them to get the same effect in a dish. Whole spices have a longer shelf life than ground. You can purchase one of those little coffee grinders and use it exclusively for spices (unless you want your coffee to taste like cumin and coriander). You can even go one step further and intensify the flavor by toasting the spices in a small dry skillet over low heat until they are fragrant, and then grinding them. The best way to clean your spice grinder is to grind a little bread in it. Discard the bread and wipe the grinder out. The bread takes most of the spice aroma out of the grinder."
Excerpted from Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals by Sara Moulton
Copyright 2005 by Sara Moulton. Excerpted by permission of Broadway, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
"A QUESTION I get asked a lot on my show is how to store dried herbs and spices. Both herbs and spices should be kept in a cool dark place, preferably a closed cupboard or drawer. They will last for about six months, depending on how long they were sitting on the shelf before you purchased them. You can tell by their color how fresh they are. Dried herbs go from green to gray as they age; dried spices also fade in color. (For example, paprika and cayenne should look red, not brown.) What happens after six months? It is not like spices and herbs go bad and will harm you; they just lose flavor, and it will take more of them to get the same effect in a dish. Whole spices have a longer shelf life than ground. You can purchase one of those little coffee grinders and use it exclusively for spices (unless you want your coffee to taste like cumin and coriander). You can even go one step further and intensify the flavor by toasting the spices in a small dry skillet over low heat until they are fragrant, and then grinding them. The best way to clean your spice grinder is to grind a little bread in it. Discard the bread and wipe the grinder out. The bread takes most of the spice aroma out of the grinder."
Excerpted from Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals by Sara Moulton
Copyright 2005 by Sara Moulton. Excerpted by permission of Broadway, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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modify, move, use or remove (or not remove) information posted at our discretion
and without prior notification or explanation. Failure to follow the guidelines
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Not required, but a request:
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