{"id":2329,"date":"2017-04-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/?p=2329"},"modified":"2017-04-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-04-08T00:00:00","slug":"the-shelf-life-of-common-kitchen-herbs-and-spices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/2017\/04\/08\/the-shelf-life-of-common-kitchen-herbs-and-spices\/","title":{"rendered":"The Shelf Life of Common Kitchen Herbs and Spices | Natural Holistic Health Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><!-- Large NHH bottom post --><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>\n  How many of us are guilty of this one?\n <\/p>\n<p>\n  You have jars of spices that are older than your kids.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n  You probably bought the jar for a particular recipe, which you made a few times, and now the jar is sitting there.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n  The same can happen with herbs, especially dried ones. But, there are ways to combat this problem and reduce waste.\n <\/p>\n<h3>\n  Ideas regarding the shelf life of common kitchen herbs and spices:<br \/>\n <\/h3>\n<p>\n<strong><br \/>\n   1. Herbs versus Spices<br \/>\n  <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  First, it\u2019s important to point out the difference between herbs and spices, because they have different shelf lives.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n  Spices are usually from a dried seed or fruit \u2013 like nutmeg, black pepper, cinnamon, turmeric, coriander, and allspice.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n  Sometimes a root may be considered a spice, like ginger.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n  Herbs are usually stems, flowers, or leaves. Parsley, chives, sage, rosemary, thyme, and basil are all herbs.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n<strong><br \/>\n   2. Whole Spices Keep Better<br \/>\n  <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Whole spices have a longer shelf life than pre-ground ones. Their insides are not exposed to air, so their essential oils are held within the spice.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n  Generally speaking, spices are fine to use as long as they have flavor.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n<strong><br \/>\n   3. Dried Herbs<br \/>\n  <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Because they are made from the delicate aerial parts of the plant, herbs lose flavor and potency sooner than spices.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n  Give your herbs the sniff test \u2013 it\u2019s unlikely that they will still retain their scent.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n  You can simply increase the amount of herb called for in the recipe, because herbs don\u2019t spoil like milk or fresh vegetables.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n  But at some point, usually within two years, those herbs will lose just about all flavor and will need to be discarded.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n<strong><br \/>\n   4. Herbs That Don\u2019t Dry Well<br \/>\n  <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Some herbs just don\u2019t retain their flavor when dried. For these herbs, like basil, freezing may work best.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n  But they should still be used within 6 months. The freezer is not the ideal place for herb storage.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n<strong><br \/>\n   5. Prolonging the Life of Herbs and Spices<br \/>\n  <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  To get the most out of your dried herbs and spices, proper storage is important.\n <\/p>\n<h3>\n  Here are some tips.<br \/>\n <\/h3>\n<p>\n  * Don\u2019t store herbs and spices near the stove. Yes, it\u2019s convenient; but the heat from the stove will decrease their flavor rapidly, and so will steam from simmering pots.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n  Humidity from your dishwasher will do the same. Herbs and spices are best stored in a cool, dry place.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n  * Pinch up the herb or spice you want to use (or use a measuring spoon) and drop it into the dish you\u2019re making, particularly if it\u2019s a hot dish.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n  This is to prevent steam from getting into the herb container as it would if you shook the herb or spice container directly over the hot food, which introduces moisture.\n <\/p>\n<p>\n  Herbs and spices can\u2019t last indefinitely, but you can increase their shelf life.\n <\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">\n<p><!-- Large NHH bottom post --><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p id=\"kc_opp\">\n<small><br \/>\n<\/small>\n<\/p>\n<p> &lt;div<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How many of us are guilty of this one? You have jars of spices that are older than your kids. You probably bought the jar for a particular recipe, which you made a few times, and now the jar is sitting there. The same can happen with herbs, especially dried ones. But, there are ways [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-herbal-reference"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}