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sclariat | 07-07-2008 10:05 PM
Spices longivity First, I want to say this is the wealthiest site I have ever come across for information. I have gotten food preps, guns, ammo, tools, survival books, pm's, etc. because of this site. I have told countless family, friends, and acquaintances of what has happened to our monetary system and what is to come. NONE believe me!!!! My wife has told countless people and she has reached 1 aunt and she is ready for the coming event(s). We see the events unfolding on the idiot box in front of our faces plain as day and no one will believe us. We have given countless web sites, including this one, and lots of printed materials to no avail. Do some of you have this problem? Sorry for the long introduction. My question is how much longer will spices keep if I put them in half pint or pint mason jars with an oxygen absorber? They will be kept in a dry, cool basement. I have no more freezer or refrigerator space for storing spices. I know most spices keep about a year in the container they come in if not opened very often. I have sent several emails to internet spice company recommended by this site over 3 weeks ago and NONE of them responded to my question. I want to thank everyone who makes this forum such a fantastic site!!!! :wavey: :ARMS1::ARMS1::ARMS1: :wavey:

Heimdhal | 07-07-2008 11:19 PM
Re: Spices longivity as far as prepping goes, spices will techincaly last quite a long time sealed up. As far as taste/nutrition goes...6 months is about as long as you want to keep them around. As a chef, i wont use anything older than 3 months, and prefer as fresh as humanly possible.

Maddie | 07-08-2008 09:12 AM
Re: Spices longivity Welcome to GIM! If you're like me, a person of undiscriminating palate, many spices can last a long time. Except for bay leaves, I pretty much can't tell the difference between fresh spices and spices that have been sitting around a couple of years, but then, my cooking is unadventuresome and engaged in primarily for the purpose of not starving to death. My husband, on the other hand, spends weeks or months perfecting a recipe and is very sensitive to the flavor of the spices he uses. He insists upon the freshest spices he can find. He could have been a food critic for fine restaurants. I could have been a cowboy hunkered over a campfire. :laugh: Regarding trying to convince people you know about what's coming: Most of those who try have little luck in convincing others of either what's coming or of preparing. Most of us consider it a dangerous thing to do. There's good reason to fear that in times of crisis those who have resources will be expected to surrender them for the "greater good." The more people who know or suspect what you have, the greater the chance your preps may be confiscated during an emergency or you may be charged with hoarding. Also, if they know you have guns and/or PMs, they may mention it to others indiscriminately, and you could end up being burglarized. Finally, it's not good for anyone to know about what you have for firearms and ammo.

ProblemSolver | 07-08-2008 09:28 AM
Re: Spices longivity I think that moisture is probably the most damaging thing to spices. Also, it depends on the spice; ground spices will have a shorter shelf life than whole spices, some spices have more oil (thus can go rancid) than others. If you are buying in bulk (or drying your own), your plan will probably work okay, and, as we all know, is certainly better than nothing. Vacuum packing would also seem to be a good route. As for sharing the message, I'm not sure I mentioned it on this forum or not, but recently read a book entitled, The End As I Know It. It was written after Y2K about a person trying to spread the Y2K news to family and friends. Certainly VERY worth reading (very funny) and may help bolster your morale. I, like Maddie, am careful with whom I share the message, or the knowledge that I'm prepping. You just never know...

shades2 | 07-08-2008 11:47 AM
Re: Spices longivity I have found spices don't keep for long and rapidly lose their flavour. They have to be totally sealed, kept in a cool/dry place to have any hope of keeping flavour, and even then you would probably be lucky to get 6 months out of them to have peak flavour, as a lot of spices contain oils etc. that break down over time. Spices in essence should be fresh, but they are a luxury in terms of food. The only exceptions are condiments such as pepper that tends to last quite a long time if kept dry. Salt lasts forever. Not sure about paprika + peppers as I think that stuff when totally dry can last quite well.

wallew | 07-08-2008 12:34 PM
Re: Spices longivity Well, I will disagree with what's been said in this thread. I've got spices (unopened) that are at least ten years old. Some of them, I put up. I make my own 'spice mix'. I make it 35 lbs at a time. I then 'break it down' into different containers. I put 3/4's of the mix into three specific containers that are quite large, but have a seal that keeps moisture out. Given I live in Denver, and these spices are stored in my cool, dark (mainly), dry basement this is NOT an issue. But it takes approximately seven to eight years to 'give away' 35 lbs of spice mix. Guess what? The LAST large container I opened (six years after I made it) still smelled AND TASTED the same as the day I put into that large container. I also have a large assortment of spices that are in the factory vacuum sealed containers they came in. I occasionally will need to open a new one. IN EVER INSTANCE, they smell and taste the same. Some one here mentioned the 'nutritional' value of spices disappearing over the years. Guess what? WHO CARES. The point of using spices is because they (hopefully) make food more palatable, not because you are adding NUTRITION to a dish. Oh, and for all those that are chefs (I'm just a cook) and say that the spices MUST be the freshest of the fresh? Get over it. If we go into a 'bad time' (what ever YOUR description of that is), any chef worth his bones will be GLAD to have ANY SPICES, compared to NO SPICES. Go ahead. Give them a choice. Either use NO spices. Or use 'older spices' that may NOT be the freshest choice - but the ONLY choice. If you make your own spice mix as I do, or grow your own spices as I do, then consider putting them into 'canning' jars. As they have an airtight seal and will help spices keep for much longer periods of time. IF you can keep from opening them up 'just to make sure they are still good'. Again, who cares. Having spices that are not fresh beats throwing them out or not using them. Kind of like OTC meds. I NEVER throw out any aspirin, tylenol, advil, etc as long as the bottles have NOT been opened. When (if) we go into bad times, I will GIVE these meds away with the proviso that I cannot guarantee either their safety or their effectiveness. But it's better than NOTHING to the person you are attempting to help. And you don't HAVE to tell that person you have more 'current' meds for yourself. In fact, it might be to your advantage to tell them that if you need this type of meds, it's EXACTLY what you are using. Not this unopened bottle, but it's twin that you did open.

brewer | 07-08-2008 12:40 PM
Re: Spices longivity Spices/seasonings we grow/dry and store in sealed jars. Basil also make a large batch of pesto to freeze Marjoram, Sage, Thyme. Chilies Fresh chives grown in containers year round, Garlic grown/cured and stored also cloves in sealed jars of olive oil. Whole pepper corns and Bayleaves bulk then into pint/1/2 pint sealed jars. Trying to grow a small bay leaf plant in a container with little success. Horseradish grown fresh and processed with vinegar. Longevity can vary but even after several years our home grown stuff is still useful...bulkwhole pepprcorns are 4 years old. It's all a matter of how you store this stuff (light and temps) Good luck All the jars are vacuum sealed.

sclariat | 07-08-2008 11:28 PM
Re: Spices longivity Thanks for all the responses. :wavey: I was thinking along the lines of Wallew. I�m just trying to think of possible ways to extend the freshness or preserving the spices for hard times. I believe older spices are better than none and they would be at a premium if things did get tough especially in the winter. Brewer those are some good ideas and I will definitely use some of them. We do grow some of our own such as basil, garlic, sage, thyme, and chilies, etc. I haven�t thought of vacuum sealing for some reason. Duh! Duh! ProblemSolver thanks for the book title. I�ll try and get a copy and read it. Maddie, I am like you with an undiscriminating palate in general. Heimdhal, I sometimes can tell the difference of real freshness such as in dill, but in general I can�t. I am still interested in a response from someone whether or not putting an oxygen absorber in the mason jars would probably extend their freshness or not. My thinking is that it would but I don�t know a whole lot. I know when I stored beans, dry fruits, flour, etc. in mason jars the oxygen absorbers pulled a vacuum and slowed the deterioration rate down from what others have said.

Unclad Lad | 07-09-2008 12:57 AM
Re: Spices longivity An oxygen absorber isn't going to hurt, to be certain, so I say do it. Generally speaking, the less you process it, the longer it will retain its taste and other properties.

LukeNM | 07-09-2008 12:59 AM
Re: Spices longivity Here is another option: http://www.mredepot.com/servlet/the-...-Spices/Detail

sclariat | 07-09-2008 01:25 AM
Re: Spices longivity Bingo LukeNM! You gave me a source for long term spices and answered my oxygen absorber question all at one time. Looks like I would also need to add both an oxygen absorber and a desiccant to a mason jar. I knew GIM people would come through. If someone has a question, the GIM forum has the anwers. Thanks LukeNM! :ARMS1::ARMS1: :elefant::elefant:

shades2 | 07-09-2008 08:18 AM
Re: Spices longivity Canned spice? Wow...

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