7 Essential Tips for Using Spices and Herbs

Now you know the why behind “stay fresh.” We’ll now expand on the how. Spices and herbs will lose their flavor and aroma much faster if not stored correctly. Now, storage isn’t really the best way to put it since the goal is not to store them away for future use down the line. The goal is to use them now and often. You want to keep them close at hand in the kitchen so you’re encouraged to use them daily, but you also need to protect them.

Let’s start with spices and then move on to fresh herbs. Four main elements cause a spice to lose potency: air, light, heat, and moisture. So above your stove or on a windowsill is far from ideal. The worst possible place would be an open bowl in direct sunlight, right over a steaming pan. Spices must be kept in an airtight container in a cool, dark, dry place. Let’s delve a little deeper into each of these elements and why we need to mitigate them.

• Why is air bad for spices?
  • When spices interact with oxygen, a chemical reaction called oxidation occurs which targets a spice’s volatile oils. The complex molecular structure of the flavor compounds breaks down, resulting in a different (worse) experience of them. It’s similar to the browning of a freshly peeled apple, so you can visualize your spices browning like that with air exposure over time - not good.
• Why is light bad for spices?
  • Certain flavor compounds are photosensitive, meaning they react negatively to light, which also leads to loss of flavor and color and even the formation of undesirable byproducts. For example, curcumin in turmeric degrades with light exposure, which lessens its vibrant yellow color and weakens its antioxidant activity.
• Why is heat bad for spices?
  • A spice’s volatile oils gradually evaporate under heat. As we now know, that’s enough of a reason right there. But heat can also bleach out the natural pigments in some spices. For vibrant spices like paprika, its beautiful color is a sign of its potency, so any fading portrays a lower-quality spice and strips away your ability to make visually stunning dishes. Another reason to keep them cool is that heat can increase humidity, which brings us to the next point.
• Why is moisture bad for spices?
  • Moisture alters volatile compounds, so you want to keep your spice containers dry. This means, primarily, not leaving the jar open next to a boiling pot of water and not sprinkling the spice directly from the jar into a wok, as the steam will rise into your jar and contaminate the rest of the spice. Luckily, the latter is already solved by using whole spices - you’ll be doing less sprinkling from the container and more applying the freshly ground spice with a little spoon straight from your grinder of choice. But if you do have powders, like many spice blends that only come pre-ground, moisture will make them clump together and you'll have to re-dry them in the oven which is an unnecessary pain. This point becomes even more paramount if you live in humid climates. Close your jars as soon as you take out the spice, and put it right back into your cool, dry spice drawer.

Looking at these factors, a great place to keep your airtight spice jars is simply in a kitchen drawer or cupboard away from your stove, with any kind of spice rack insert that helps you keep them organized. Arranging them alphabetically or according to how you use them (like by cuisine or flavor profile) will make it much easier to grab them on the fly. It’s important to reduce any friction to using them frequently. If you follow these simple rules, you’ll get so much more out of your spices.

For herbs, a great tactic is to wrap them in a damp paper towel and keep them in the refrigerator. This will help them maintain their freshness. First, remove any rubber bands or fasteners, spread out the sprigs, and discard any that look wilted. Then cut off any roots and trim off any yellowing or slimy parts. Next, wash them in a big bowl of water and dry them on a towel. Wrap them loosely in paper towels and place them into a ziplock bag. Depending on how crowded your fridge is, you may want to blow into the bag to give the sprigs some cushion so they don’t get damaged. You can also use a plastic airtight container to offer the same protection. It’s important to store them in the warmest part of the refrigerator, which is typically not in the back. You don’t want them to freeze, and you don’t want them hiding behind everything else since it's too easy to forget they’re there.

These quick solutions will save you a ton of flavor.