Storage Tips

Herbs & Spices storage tips to enjoy the flavour for longer.

We love herbs and spices for the wonderful flavours and aromas they bring to our everyday cooking. But stored incorrectly most seasonings tend to lose their freshness. Fortunately, herbs and spices do not spoil but they do lose their strength, so to help your favourite herbs and spices retain their signature qualities for longer, they need to be stored properly.

How to optimise Herbs & Spices freshness. Spices and herbs will keep for a long time if they are stored in airtight bottles, so be sure to properly reseal each lid when cooking. The freshness of spices and herbs can also be maintained longer if they are stored away from heat, moisture and direct sunlight. Exposure to these elements speeds up the loss of flavour and aroma.

Herbs & Spices Storage tips:

• 1. The shelf life of properly stored spices and herbs is approximately 4 years for whole spices, 2-3 years for ground spices and 1-3 years for leafy herbs, depending on the herb.
• 2. There are three checks to use when verifying freshness: look, smell and taste. A visual check for colour fading is a good indicator of flavour loss. Taste your spices and herbs; if a fresh odour or taste is not apparent, they need to be replaced.
• 3. Do not sprinkle spices and herbs directly from the bottle over a steaming pot. Steam introduced into the bottle will hasten the loss of flavour and aroma. Steam will also result in caking of contents.
• 4. Make sure your measuring spoon is completely dry when you dip it into the bottle. Moisture introduced into the bottle will also result in caking and flavour loss.
• 5. Avoid storing over the stove, dishwasher, sink or near a window.
• 6. Spices should not be stored in the freezer. Freezing does not extend the shelf life of regularly used dried spices and herbs. If stored in the freezer, and repeatedly removed for use, condensation will form in the bottles and accelerate loss of flavour and aroma.