| Years ago, I received a nice spice rack and 25 jars of | | | | water. Pat the leaves dry with paper towels. Seal |
| herbs and spices for a wedding gift. I remember | | | | small amounts of the leaves into freezer bags, label |
| sitting there thinking to myself, how am I going to | | | | and freeze. |
| use these? Back then, I was not an educated cook! | | | | Shelf Life For Spices |
| Don't get me wrong, I was appreciative of this great | | | | Ground Spices: 2-3 years |
| wedding gift. However, I lacked the knowledge that I | | | | Whole Spices: 3-4 years |
| needed to know about using them. | | | | Seasoning Blends: 1-2 years |
| As a new cook, I thought herbs and spices were the | | | | Herbs: 1-3 years |
| same thing and quickly discovered that they are | | | | Extracts: 4 years, except pure vanilla, which lasts |
| different. According to Wikipedia, spices are made | | | | indefinitely |
| from a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetable | | | | *tip* Here in Pennsylvania, we observe daylight |
| substance and used to add flavor to a food dish or | | | | savings time. Every season when we change our |
| used as a preservative. An herb is made from leafy | | | | clocks, I will take the time out to go through my |
| green plants and used for flavoring purposes. | | | | spice cabinet and remove any outdated products. |
| Here are some great tips that I have learnt over the | | | | How To Properly Store Herbs and Spices |
| years. | | | | You will want to keep them in a cool, dry, and dark |
| Using a Mortar and Pestle: Dried herbs, aromatic | | | | place. A good place would be inside your pantry |
| seeds, garlic cloves and nuts will release more of their | | | | closet or inside your kitchen cupboard. You never |
| flavor when crushed with a mortar and pestle. The | | | | want to leave them out in sunlight or right near your |
| mortar is a deep bowl in which ingredients are placed. | | | | stove where heat and moisture can destroy them. |
| The tool used for crushing is the pestle. For a uniform | | | | When it comes to cooking with herbs and spices, |
| grind, crush a small amount at a time. It is important | | | | you need to know the basics. Once you know the |
| to make sure your mortar bowl is completely clean | | | | basics, you will feel more comfortable in using them. |
| and dry before using it. | | | | There are several good books out in the marketplace |
| Substitutions: To substitute fresh herbs for dried, use | | | | that you can purchase to use as a guide. The book I |
| three times more of the fresh herb. | | | | like to recommend is by Jill Norman. It's called, Herbs |
| Freezing: You can freeze fresh herbs by washing | | | | and Spices, The Cook's Reference. |
| young tender leaves in several changes of cool | | | | |