For this past Christmas my family presented me with a certificate for two cooking classes. The local community college (Tri-C for those in the Cleveland area) has opened a culinary institute that is in the heart of downtown and they have established a curriculum of cooking classes as part of their continuing education program. Unlike previous efforts (and those of many community colleges) these were not the entrepreneurial home maker hosting classes like “I love my crock pot” or a local hunter demonstrating “How to cook venison”. These classes are led by one of our local star chefs, Brandt Evans.
Encouraged that my family did not push me toward the “Cooking for Beginners” classes, I chose a Northern Italian and a German class. I’ll write a future blog post about the classes (they were good), but one item really stuck out. Early in one of the classes the chef stated, “the key difference between my cooking and yours, is I properly spice my dishes.”
I like to cook a wide variety of cuisines. The good side of that is that I get to try different spices. The bad part of that is that I end up with a large number of little glass bottles and plastic containers of spices. There are three problems this presents.
The first is how to store the things in a way that I can access them without them taking all of the front rows in my pantry. My kitchen, like most, was not originally built to address this issue. I tried the mini bleachers (I felt the spices were about to open in song like a middle school choral concert), but that took up too much space. One year, I received two spice carousels.
These worked (one stacked on top of the other), but I had to empty the spice out of its original container and I didn’t have enough containers for all my spices. So I was still stuck little bottles. The only real solution was to renovate the kitchen.
While my spice storage was not the motivating factor (can you say olive linoleum), it did give me an opportunity to solve this issue. Our dishwasher is positioned so the sink was on one side (good plumbing choice) and a small cabinet on the other. The original design had a door that swung open and the narrow, but tall space was ideal for cookie sheets and cutting boards.
This space became an ideal location for pull out spice storage.
As you can see, I have quite a few spices. In fact, they still don’t all fit. I keep my specialty chili powders separate, but this covers most of the storage need I have. Spices are in two rows and the small plastic containers stack two high. So this brings forward problem number two – they all look alike from the top.
The companies that sell mass market spices do not help here. In an effort to maintain their common look throughout their product line, it is difficult to determine if that jar is cumin or coriander without eyeing that label just right. Over the years I have tried to improve this by labeling the top of the jar myself.
While this works, to some degree, I shouldn’t have to do it. Look at the parsley in the above picture. Was that really so tough that it took eons of spice packaging to come up with labeling the top? Of course I must by the organic line to get that labeling as I guess the margins are too tight on regular spices to print individual jar tops. It is time for the spice companies to take the next step. Give me different cap colors based on the spice. Jerk seasoning? Jamaican flag colors. Cream of Tartar? White. So helpful to the average cook and kitchen.
I ran across this spice storage item over at someone’s house and thought it was interesting. You cannot tell from the picture, but on the lid of each test tube of spice is the label for what the spice is. You are not going to be able to keep a large quantity of your go-to spice, but would work for the little used ones. Not overly practical, but I thought it looked interesting.
The third problem is needing 1/8 tsp and having to buy a large quantity. There are some spices that have been in my collection for more years that I care to discuss. I have started to buy small quantities to ensure I get fresher spices more often (even though by not buying in bulk it is costing me more). While I have heard that any spice that is more than a few months old may not be as effective, I cannot bring myself to throw it out. If i was earning Alton Brown’s salary, I would do this, but on mine, they have to last.
Below are my top 5 oldest spices. As you can tell they have been around long enough to go through several labeling schemes. First was the big letter – see the part of the T for Tartar. Next was the whole spice name written on. Third was the label (rainy day task for a child to do). That method was abandoned years ago and I’m back to the whole name.
I have been actively planning menus to use up these spices. When I showed this picture to my Gourmet Club, I was castigated for not putting the dill weed in any egg dish. So my challenge to my readers, let me know what recipes I could make that would use up these spices in any kind of quantity.
Rantings of an Amateur Chef 
I go through a lot of celery seed every year — and it’s because I use it in homemade potato salad. Since I don’t like mayo, my potato salads, pasta salads, etc are always oil based and celery seed gives it that little pop.
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I find that the times that I would put celery seed (potato salad) I end up putting in celery.
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Very interesting. Brandt Evans does such a good job. We were just at Blue Canyon last weekend. Sounds like a great class!
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My grandma put allspice in everything: oatmeal cookies, pumpkin pie, etc. It was one of her basic four: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and the little known allspice. I bought it more from devotion than need and when it finally (after years) ran out, I didn’t replace it. And no one ever noticed.
Celery seed I use in volume in the fall every other year when I bottle pickles–especially the bread and butter ones. But I’ve been eyeing the ones on the grocery shelf and wondering if my labor justifies the savings. Of course I control the salt and sweetening, but for a condiment, does it really matter?
Sage? Yep, I have far too much. I bought some in bulk and years later still don’t know why. Maybe I’ll add it to my compost for a sage smelling garden.
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I used to make a spiced tea (also contained Tang) that used allspice. Maybe I need to make a batch of that again!
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My spice storage is a pet peeve for me. It put all the little containers in a medium sized circular plastic container and I have so much spices that it doesn’t fit anymore. And my pantry isn’t big at all so everything looks cluttered! hahaha Strangely enough my favorite spice (i’m not sure if it qualifies) as of the moment is red pepper flakes. I sprinkle it in almost anything I make. 😀
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Like the different ideas for storage! In Germany dill is put in cucumber salad. (They call it “cucumber herb”). Allspice is great as a sprinkle on milky coffee or hot chocolate! I use fresh sage in any tomato sauce, but not too much.
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I feel your pain, it is almost impossible to store your spices and still have then accessible. Unless your in a very modern kitchen we have to make do with what we have. I have a spice drawer, part of a cabinet and I do keep some on top of my counter near the stove. I know that’s not the best place for spices, but they do not usually last very long. Great blog.
Dennis
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I love this post! I live in a flat that’s obviously not designed for someone who cooks extensively but I make the best of it 🙂 I try to use fresh herbs as much as possible so space issue is my jars of salt. Recycling jam jars combined with glass jars with metal locks could pose as a challenge so all I can do is stack them carefully against a wall on the counter.
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