Keeping Spices Fresh Keeps Flavor at its Peak
Spices are the backbone of any good recipe. Keeping dried spices on hand is a convenient way to always be prepared for cooking. But old spices can leave you with a lack luster final dish and you wondering what happened. Here are some simple tips to keep you dried spices at there freshest. Shelf life of spices • Ground spices such as salt or cinnamon can be kept for up to 3 years. • Whole spices such as whole cloves can be kept up to 4 years. • Seasoning blends such as Herbs de Provence can be kept up to 2 years. • Herbs such as rosemary or thyme can be kept up to 3 years. • Extracts such as vanilla extract or almond extract can be kept up to 4 years. Pure vanilla can be kept indefinitely. Spice storage • Store spices in tightly sealed containers. Most grocery store spices come in small plastic or glass jars with lids that are ideal for spice storage. If you are purchasing bagged spices make an investment is some small glass jars with lids and label them according to contents. • Mark the date of purchase next to the freshness date on your spice containers. This way you will be able to keep track of when you purchased a spice and when it is time to replace your spices. Tips for longer shelf life • Never shake a can of spices overtop a steaming pot. The moisture can enter the spice container and cause the spices to cake. • Always use a dry measuring spoon to measure spices. Testing for freshness • Rub a small sprinkling of spices in between the palms of your hands. If the spices are aromatic they are still fresh, if you have no scent of little scent the spices are past there prime. • Look for color. If your spices are still vibrant in color they are still good. If they have faded it is time to replace them. Shauna Hanus is a gourmet cook who specializes in creating gourmet recipes. She has extensive experience cooking with easy to find grocery items to create delightful gourmet meals. She is also the publisher of a no cost bi-monthly gourmet newsletter. Her newsletter is always fun and informational packed with tips and trivia you can use everyday. Sign up for her newsletter and learn more about Gourmayeats Weekly Recipe Club at http://www.gourmayeats.com |
Other Articles
8 Simple Commonsense Cooking Tips Do you get lumps in your white sauce?When making white sauce (béchamel) or any sauce that requires slow cooking to thicken try using an egg whisk instead of a spoon to stir and you can increase the temperature (not too much though) to speed the process up and you wont get any lumps in it. Turn your open barbeque into a gourmet oven. ...Chicken Fillet in Chimi Churi Sauce Chimi churi sauce is an argentinian dressing primerily used for beef (asado) and lamb. Here I am adapting it for chicken (you can also use it to roast chicken, quail or duck if you like). I am not going to make the sauce separate but instead I will be making it up on top of the chicken.Ingredients: Chicken fillet. (4-5 peices per port ...Fish! It's What's For Dinner After Gastric Bypass Since gastric bypass weight loss surgery gives us a second chance of leading healthy lives it behooves us to pay attention to what we eat and incorporate things in our limited diet that can aid our health and longevity. Fortunately for us one of the healthiest things we can eat is also gastric bypass friendly: Fish.The American Heart Asso ...Chef Hat History Chef hats have a history that can be traced as far as the beginning of the centuries. Although the real origin is not really known, it does go back a long way. It is a popular belief that the chefs in the courts of Iran and the nearby nations wore the chef hats even in the B.C. times, although for reasons that might be different from now. Howeve ...Cook Once, Eat For Days In today's fast paced world, cooking a family meal can be a challenge. Fast food seems to be the normal "quick fix" for supper. Although a good home cooked meal can never beat greasy hamburgers.Making menus can help with the planning process to ensure you'll always have something home cooked on the table, although time to make meals is st ...An Old Friend - Betty Crocker Betty Crocker is an icon that many of us have grown up with through the years. Betty Crocker is synonymous with cookbooks and cake mixes. I can still remember seeing the picture of good old Betty on the box of those delicious cake mixes.The name Betty Crocker has historical significance as well. The name “Betty Crocker” was developed to ...Easy Menu Planning from The Rush Hour Cook It has been said that changing one’s mind is a woman’s prerogative. However, I don’t think the author of that statement anticipated how often women would change their mind on what to fix for dinner during the course of a day. My routine goes like this… get up at some early hour in order to get everyone else up at a normal hour, then think about ...Barbecue Success With The Rule Of Thirds Ever been to a barbecue party where the ‘chef' placed as much food as he could possibly fit onto the barbecue grill, every so often stabbing the food with a fork and juggling it around so that it cooks evenly? Ever noticed how, within a few minutes, the flames start gently flickering under the food, the chef proudly standing back admiring the ch ...Meringue Made Simple Using meringue to top a fruit pie is an easy and elegant way to serve these delicious pies. Lemon meringue is the most popular meringue type pie but you can try orange or lemon cream as a new twist.Meringue can be a bit fickle if you are trying it for the first time. Here are five easy to follow steps that will help you make perfect mer ...Chef Uniforms A chef’s uniform consists of different pieces of clothing to complete the attire. Although most of the chefs do not wear all the pieces, most of the restaurants and big chain hotels insist on the chefs being properly attired in the entire uniform. A chef’s uniform generally consists of a head net or chef hat; a bandanna, chef neckerchief, scarf, ...Roasting Peppers and Other Veggie Tips Peppers can be roasted in the broiler of your oven or over a gas stove-top. After roasting, put peppers in a plastic bag that seals and seal it up. Leave in bag to allow steaming for about 30 minutes. After steaming, remove skins, stems, seeds and membranes. Cut, chop or dice peppers to your desire.For the Broiler - Cut peppers into h ...Smart Shopping: 25 Ways to Slash Your Grocery Bills No doubt about it, convenience foods save you time. But - and it's a big but - convenience foods don't save you money. If you rely on frozen dinners, helper foods, kits and take-out you are spending too much money on food. These tips will help you lower your bills and eat healthy, flavorful meals.1. Plan meals by the week.2. M ...The Best Pickle For a Bloody Mary In order to make a good bloody mary you need the right ingredients. There are probably a dozen or more ways to put together that favorite morning after drink. A lot of people refer to it as salad in a glass. Some of them do resemble salads with all the vegetables clinging to the edge of the glass. In my opinion a bloody mary can never have too m ...Pyrex Mixing Bowls - A Kitchen Favorite Pyrex mixing bowls typically come in sets of 3 with a small, medium and large bowl that sits snuggly inside each other. Pyrex has been around for almost 90 years. Over 75 percent of households in America own at least one piece of Pyrex.Like so many things we use today, the original idea led to the present glass dishes we know as Pyrex. Be ...Kicking Up the Flavor of Vegetables with Dry Rubs When you are not a big fan of vegetables, it is difficult to imagine actually enjoying them when staring at a bunch of green beans on your plate. There is a solution though, and it comes in the form of dry rubs!Dry rubs are a combination of spices that are usually used to add flavor to meats prior to cooking. However, with a little imag ...Seasoning An Oven Untreated cast iron rusts, especially around water. To prevent metal from oxidizing in the presence of moisture, cast iron requires a process called ?seasoning?. Seasoning is simply the procedure of baking oil into the oven's pores, and on top of the iron pores. This baked on coating will darken and eventually turn black with age. Darkening ...Cook Fast With Your Slow Cooker! It may sound strange to hear, but this handy appliance called a crockpot (also known as a slow cooker) will actually save you time in the kitchen! The crockpot allows you to prepare all the ingredients that go into a meal before you actually start your busy day. This meal in the crockpot can then actually prepare itself unattended while you get ...Salts Explained Cooking Salts ExplainedSalt, also known as Sodium Chloride or (NaCl) is a vital component of the healthy and balanced human diet. Over half of the human body contains fluids that contain salt. Our blood, tears and saliva all contain salt. In addition we daily lose salt in our perspiration and urine. Muscles need salt in order to function, ...Great Pastry Tips Make sure all your ingredients are cold, because they make the best crust. This means make sure you use really cold fat and even place your flour in the refrigerator to chill before using.Add fat slowly until mixture looks like small peas. The more fat you use past the point of looking like peas the less flaky your crust will be. ...Cooking - Tips For Better Barbequing Having a backyard barbeque with friends and family is one of life's great pleasures. Whether you own a gas grill or charcoal grill, barbequed foods taste great. To help make your cooking experience even more enjoyable, I've listed some tips that all backyard chefs should be aware of.• Before firing up the grill and cooking on it, be sur ...Host Your Own Ice Cream Sundae Party Are you looking for a unique family friendly party idea? How about throwing an ice cream sundae party? It doesn’t have to be only for the kids. What a perfect way to spend an evening or afternoon during any time of year. This could be a great half time show during football season or a child’s birthday party. Make it just like an old-fashion ...Vinaigrette Dressing, a Simple Balsamic Recipe Will Do Times have sure changed since Seven Sea’s Italian Dressing and Wishbone’s Green Goddess sat on every store shelf as salad dressing staples. Remember when we thought “Original Ranch” was a vast improvement for our salad dressing repertoire, and store bought bacon bits were a hit? Then packaged spring mixed greens became available ...Crafting the Perfect Barbeque Pit Cavemen weren’t always barbaric in their daily lives, between gathering food and knocking one and other over with big sticks they utilized the outdoor oven known as at barbeque pit. Our cave brothers knew what they were doing when they smoked turkey and chickens over the hot coals of the pit, they were unknowingly crafting a cooking method still ...Championship BBQ Ingredients - Rubs and Mop Sauce If you ask the BBQ experts rubs and mop sauces are key to every Championship BBQ team. They have distinct purposes in the smoking process to make the meat taste moist and delicious.- Rub that meatThe bbq rub is a must have ingredient for the bbq or smoking process. There are two key concepts to keep in mind when creating you ...When a Lime is a Lemon is a Lime A Lime in Barbados has different meanings to different people. Ask a Bajan for a lemon and you will receive a lime. Ask for a lime and receive a lime. Lemonade is made with lime juice. Approach a group of men lounging under a breadfruit tree and ask what they're up to and you may hear, "Jus limin'." Liming is hanging out, passing time, relax ...Romantic Meals on a Budget Food and romance go hand in hand. But, if you’re on a budget, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to show your sweetie that you love him. You can have a romantic meal at home – for the cost of a regular meal. The food you choose is not nearly as important as the atmosphere you create. You could easily make a very romantic meal from pizza or ...
|