How to Store Your Spices

by Anna Katigbak

Spices are known to enhance the taste, aroma, and color of your dish. It makes it all the more interesting! Proper storage of spices becomes a must to maximize its shelf life and retain its quality.

Here are a few things you have to take note of when storing your spices:

1. Storage Place- Storing your spices near the stove or window isn’t a good idea. Placing your spice containers in these spaces would expose them to heat—from the stove and from sunlight, which can lead to moisture and ruin both its quality and shelf life. It might not be a good idea to keep them in your refrigerator either. As you bring in and out your spices from the fridge, its temperature changes and introduce moisture, which would compromise its quality.
2. Container- Keep your spices in separate dry sealable containers. We recommend glass jars and spice containers. They must be airtight to protect them from moisture and oxidation.
3. Temperature- To be able to retain its quality and prolong shelf life, remember to keep them away from warm places and be careful with varying storage temperature! When storing your spices, your best bet is to keep them in cool, dark, and dry places and containers—such as your cupboard or cabinet.
4. Labels- Always put labels on your spice containers! Trust me, it will go a long way!
5. Expiration Dates- Besides putting labels, it’s important to indicate when you opened the bottle. Shelf life of spices usually last 1 to 2 years after opening. Appearance and aroma are indications if they are still good past the expiry dates.

To add to finding the perfect place to store your spices, it’ll become convenient if you have an organizing system for these. We found additional tips to keep you spice containers in order.

1. By Use- We found organizing your spices in sections according to use (baking, roasting, grilling) instead of alphabetically. It’s more convenient to have the spices you’ll need using this method.
2. By Cuisine- If you’re into cooking different dishes from a wide variety of cuisines, you may find it better to organize your spice collection this way.