We get many curious cooks, both long time and new to the kitchen, that come into the Shoppe or call us looking for spice and herb tips. What the common thread is, how to make a dish more delish and the following helpful tips will hopefully guide you to a more tasty result.
DRIED VS. FRESH
Although fresh herbs from your garden or the farmer’s market are the tastiest, it’s not always reality (especially in January!)
Dried herbs and spices are actually more concentrated in flavor than fresh, it only takes 1 part of dried herb to equal the flavor impact of 4 parts of fresh herbs. Not to mention dried herbs and spices are easier to store, more readily available, and less expensive.
HOW TO USE DRIED HERBS
Generally, mosts dishes use a 1/4 tsp of dried or ground herbs for every 2 servings in a dish, but always be willing to taste and go with what your palette likes more or less.
Dried flavorings can be added sooner to your dish than fresh when cooking. Save fresh herbs until the end or all the flavor will cook out of the fresh too soon.
HOW TO STORE SPICES AND HERBS
To prolong the life of your spices and herbs keep them in a cool dark place in an airtight container.
Keep them away from heat, away from the stove, or from direct sunlight.
An airtight seal is best, using plastic spice bottles or glass spice bottles. You can easily recycle your old glass spice jars with plastic lids by washing thoroughly, removing any paper lining that might have been tucked up in the lid as well.
HOW LONG TO KEEP HERBS AND SPICES
The best way to tell if your spices will still have flavor is by smell. Open the container and see if they still have their fragrance, if so the flavor should still be intact. One year is usually the life span of spices and herbs but sometimes longer. And whole spice seeds often come back to life with flavor once toasted in a dry skillet for two to three minutes or so on medium heat.
Our general rule of thumb for spice-life is:
Ground seasonings = 1 year
Herbs = 1 year
Seeds/Barks = 2 years
Whole spices = 3 years