Photo by Holly Fann
A friend shared a story with me about her mother-in-law, a peculiar shopper, who would frequent estate sales. She was not so interested in finding valuable furniture or uncovering rare, vintage treasures. Instead, she would negotiate for the entire contents of orphaned spice cabinets, believing her jumbled mass of seasonings to be a shrewd acquisition. Over time, she amassed endless bags, baskets, and cabinets full of mismatched jars.
While you are probably not a secondhand spice hoarder, it's likely been a minute since you last organized your spice rack or cabinet or drawer, and, if you are like me, your collection includes quite a few deadbeats. I decided to move my spices from multiple cabinet locations to racks on the wall. Looking through a few jars of old, brittle, dried herbs and faded spices, I realized that I had more work to do than I initially imagined and that hard decisions had to be made. Now was the time to Marie Kondo the hell out of my spice cabinet.
If it’s been a while since you tamed your collection of dry seasonings or if you aren’t sure what exactly is living in there, you may be due for a spice rack refresh. If you take the time to edit and update your spices, you will better know what you own. By making sure your spices are fresh, potent, and easy to access, inviting you to use them more often, it will make you a better cook overall. And, most importantly, you will be able to taste the difference in your food.
Just like there is no canon on what spices a person should keep, there is no correct way to organize them. There are ways, however, to store them that will optimize their shelf life and potency, as well as simple organization methods that make navigating your spices easier.
Step 1: Collect and evaluate
After emptying the two cabinets I had stacked with jars, I realized that some of the ones pushed toward the back were probably purchased during the Obama administration. I excavated spices that I had no memory acquiring and a few unmarked jars whose contents were a total mystery. It didn’t matter if they were full; I knew those had to go. I had a few dried herbs that I only used once or twice. Summer savory? When did I last cook with dried summer savory? I gave each remaining jar a good visual inspection, setting aside the spices that appeared washed-out. Next came the smell test. Taking a deep whiff, those that had little to no scent joined the pale herbs and spices in the reject pile, which, by this time, was larger than my “keep” pile.
Step 2: Listing and letting go
This is, by far, the toughest part. Herbs and spices don’t spoil or go bad in ways that are not food-safe, but, over time, the oils and flavor compounds in them oxidize and dry up, losing fragrance and flavor. Different sources will suggest different lengths of time that a spice stays fresh, but a reasonable general rule is a year for ground spices and two to three years for whole spices.
Grabbing a notepad, I jotted down the list of reject pile spices and, after a silent moment to remember my free-with-purchase jar of poultry seasoning, I tossed them out. If that feels wasteful to you, old spices can be used to make soap or potpourri or spice sachet, but deadbeat spices have no place in the dishes that you take the time and effort to prepare.
Photo by Holly Fann
Storing spices near your range or oven is convenient but the heat can cut their shelf life in half.
Step 3: Homing your collection
I had been keeping my spices in multiple spots, with the ones that I used most in the cabinets above my range, which, although easy to access, dried them out faster from the heat. Direct sunlight, moisture, and heat are the enemy of herbs and spices. My new racks would be better positioned and, because they would make my spices highly visible on the wall space in my kitchen, I indulged in purchasing air-tight glass jars.
I was inspired to update my own spice rack after finding a large quantity of tiny vintage brass knobs that I thought would be perfect for dressing up spice jars. I chose borosilicate glass jars with 6-, 8-, and 15-ounce capacities. Borosilicate is stronger than normal glass and can withstand very high heat, making them a good choice for a kitchen. They measure 3 inches wide and 3–8 inches tall; the larger-than-standard size allows me to keep an amount of spices on hand suitable for quantity cooking, which I still do professionally, as well as for family and friends. I secured both the brass pulls to each Acacia wood lid and the spice racks to accommodate their size from The Container Store. (At one time, Borosilicate glass jars were only available to medical and restaurant-supply industries, but they're now more common and can be easily found online and in a few retail shops specializing in storage and organization goods.)
Step 4: To market, to market, to buy a new paprika
Next came the fun part. Looking at my list of rejected herbs and spices, I noted those that were regularly used and those used less frequently but that I wanted to keep on hand, so I would knew to purchase smaller amounts.
There are several spice shops in St. Louis to choose from when it comes time to restock and each has their own unique offerings. Penzeys in both Maplewood and Chesterfield Commons are well-stocked stores with hundreds of spices, herbs, and extracts. It's the place to find multiple varieties of cinnamon, peppercorns, and fresh vanilla beans. Jay International Foods, on South Grand, is a great spot for South and East Asian spices, a wide variety of dried chilies, and Middle Eastern spices, such as sumac and saffron. Soulard Spice Shop is located inside Soulard Farmers’ Market, and Olde Town Spice Shoppe is in St. Charles.
Although McCarthy Spice and Blends Co. is a local resource for clients looking to create custom blends of spices for distribution, the company will also sell any of its more than 400 spices directly to the public. If you had a favorite spice blend that your grandpa made and kept top-secret but you want to give out at your next family reunion, the food scientists at McCarthy can likely help you re-create it, design a label, and package any blend, using everything from specialty French sea salt to cinnamon imported from Saigon.
And if you want to pick up your spices while buying groceries, there are also some quality options at grocery stores. If your store offers bulk spices, those will likely be fresher than the packaged spices, and you can purchase as little or as much as you need. For jarred spices, look for such brands as The Spice Hunter, which sells all-natural and organic products.
After purchasing all of the spices on my list, each colorful, fragrant spice was transferred into the freshly washed and dried jars. I’m tend to utilize what I can see in front of me instead of what is obscured, so I attached water-resistant labels to the underside of my jars.
Photo by Holly Fann
Fann's spice rack is 70" tall and 16" wide. "It's a big doozy," she says. "My hubs calls it '"Spicy Mount Everest."'
Step 5: Order vs. instinct
Like peeking inside someone’s medicine cabinet, the contents of a spice collection are personal, as is the method in which they order them. While alphabetically organizing them might seem most logical for a Type A personality, to others, like myself, it makes no sense to start with adobo and end with za’atar.
While reorganizing his massive personal record collection in the movie High Fidelity, record-store owner Rob is asked by one of his employees, Dick, what system he is using.
Dick: Is this chronological? It can’t be alphabetical.
Rob: Nope.
Dick: Then what?
Rob: It’s autobiographical.
Dick: No f’ing way.
While I’m not clever or crazy enough to organize my spices in the order they entered my life, I do organize them in groups according to how I use them. My chilis get grouped together. Indian spices have a designated spot, followed by ones that I use in Asian dishes. Any blends hang out together, and herbs keep each other company. Finally, baking spices are grouped away from all of them, like their own sweet versus savory clique.
Step 6: Prepare for Greatness
No matter how you decide to order your spices, nothing will inspire you to cook something delicious or experiment with new flavor profiles more than having a clean, organized, collection of vibrant, fresh herbs and spices.
