If your parsley is losing its spunk and your bay leaves are shriveled, the solution may be as simple as finding a new place to store them or transferring them to a new container. Learn how to keep your spices fresher for longer with EDB’s guide to storing and organizing spices to preserve their quality.

Buy

• Buy whole spices. Whole spices last for two to five years, more than twice as long as ground spices. Whole spices can be crushed with a mortar and pestle or ground in a coffee grinder to an exact preferred consistency.

• Buy screw top containers. A screw top container is better than a flip-top container because it can be tightly resealed and keep spices fresh.

Store

• Keep them away from heat. Do not store spices near the dishwasher, refrigerator or oven range, even though it may seem more convenient.  Heat, air and light cause spices and herbs to lose their flavor.

• Store away from moisture. Any dampness will cause caking and quickly degrade the quality.  Store in tightly covered jars and use clean, dry spoons for measuring.

• Store in a cool place away from light.  Do not store in a window or in sunlight.

• Refrigerate cayenne pepper, chili powder and paprika to retain their color longer.

Organize

• If you have a large quantity of spices and not much space, consider sorting them by frequency of use. Keep the most frequently used spices handy in your kitchen and store the rarely used spices in an out of the way storage cabinet.

• Store spices alphabetically. This way every spice will be easy to find and put away. You will be able to easily see how much you have of a spice and whether or not you have duplicates. Avoiding duplicates will save you money as well as space.

Sources:

Spice Barn. “Storing spices,” http://www.spicebarn.com/storing_spices.htm; accessed 10 Dec. 2009.

Storage Cubes. “How to organize and store your spices,” http://www.storagecubes.info/how-to-organize-and-store-your-spices/; accessed 10 Dec. 2009.