Shelf life of spices

aliencheesecake

I "inherited" some spices from my grandmother's kitchen, some of which have never been opened but are nonetheless obviously quite old (also consider that this particular grandparent passed away quite a few years ago anyhow, so obviously some of these are spices I don't use much in my regular cooking as they are still sealed.) But i have read and heard different accounts of how long spices and herbs may be good for.

SOme of the sealed ones include ginger and all spice. I HAVE used the curry and dill weed, and the only thing I seemed to have noticed is MAYBE the dill weed is less potent.

Should I just chuck these really old ones? The brand on those two sealed ones is "Spice Time."

j_bark

Chuck them. Your food will thank you. You never know what was trapped in a bottle 10 years ago. Its dried so it shouldn't have moisture in it, but you never know. You could always give it the sniffer test.

That said I still have a 10 year old bottle of cayenne pepper somewhere. I just use the newer stuff.

susannamarie

I don't think it's worth it unless you notice mold or something. They should just become less potent, so you have to use more of them to get the effect.

neanderthin

I generally toss after 6 months. If the spices are sealed they're probably fine to use, unless they're low quality to begin with. I always buy in bulk stores and find the quality of the bulk barn here in Ontario pretty consistent.

aliencheesecake

Thanks, guys. I just found one with the All Spice pellets marked 45 cents! That one's got to be ancient!!!

monicapatituccijones

Go by your senses. If they smell and look OK, give them a shot. I have spices and herbs that are several years old, opened. They're fine. If I turned my herbs and spices over every six months, it would cost a fortune.

40DayFit

Actually, if you're on the East Coast, I'd love to have them for the novelty of their jars alone. Hell, if you're near a mailbox, let's talk!

For flavor, they're probably pretty tired out. I'd not be concerned about safety, just usefulness as a culinary resource.

If you'd like to invest a small bit of money to get great quality, fresh herbs and spices, MySpiceSage and Penzy's are both excellent. You can choose just how much you want of each herb, spice, or blend. You'd be surprised how much an ounce actually is.

https://www.myspicesage.com/ Currently has a sale going on!

http://www.penzeys.com/ Has a great free catalog chock full of recipes

aliencheesecake

40Day, I can't tell you specifically how old they are (if they are even worthwhile novelty items) but I could prob arrange to send em to u. lol