I have a few spices that I only use in one or two recipes. For example, my sugar cookie recipe (which I only make one batch a year for christmas) calls for a teaspoon of ground cardamom (is that spelled right?) and I never use it in anything else. Or cloves – those get used twice a year (thanksgiving pumpkin pie and gingerbread cookies at Christmas.)
Yes, I try to buy these rarely used spices in small bottles, but ANY bottle is too big when you only need 1 teaspoonful a year.
So I was wondering. Suppose when I open a new bottle of these rarely used spices, I repack them into little foil packets and kept them in the freezer. Would that keep their flavor fresh and strong for a couple of years?
Don’t store your spices in plastic wrap, jars or boxes as the aromatic oils will seep out of the spice and be absorbed by the plastic - unless you are storing in the manufacturer’s original container and they have confirmed that the plastic is designed for long-term storage. (For example, Penzey’s sells their spices in plastic bags that are designed for freezer storage.)
Stored airtight in glass bottles, many spices keep quite well in the freezer for a year or more. I don’t know about foil, but if you make sure the foil is airtight (crimp well or tape the edges shut), that’s probably fine.
Spices tend to last longer than dried herbs in the freezer. Both will eventually lose their flavor if they are repeatedly thawed and refrozen.
Some spices like cardamom, nutmeg, and coriander lose their essence very quickly when ground. If you are planning on storing them in the freezer for a long time, it is far better to buy whole spices and grind/grate them as needed.
I know all of the above because I’ve been carting my spice collection around the world for years. Not the same spices, although I do have saffron that is over 20 years old - I keep it as a joke/memento/experiment; it is still noticeably saffron-scented although my newer saffron is clearly stronger and fresher smelling. I probably have 30 or 40 different herbs and spices carefully packaged, labeled and organized in my freezer - some I use quite often (cinnamon, clove, bay leaf, dill, thyme, basil, white pepper, cumin, nutmeg), others occasionally (turmeric, coriander, sage, cardamom), and others almost never (ajowan, juniper, sumac). Every year or two, I go through the collection and do a sniff test so I can toss and replace anything that is losing its potency. I obtain my spices via mail order from Penzey’s Spices. They are my very, very good friends.
That shouldn’t be a problem. See, my plan was to have the individual foil packets corraled inside labeled ziplock plastic bags so I could just pull out the one (or however many teaspoonsful I needed) packet of X to thaw, leaving the rest slumbering undisturberd in my freezer.
And it sounds like this is a reasonable plan. Or at least experiment to do.
Yow. I don’t think I can even NAME that many herbs/spices.
Freezing will help, but probably not for years and years. I’ve got a few ancient spices in my cabinet, just because I have to giggle when I see things like the 70s can of mace.
We got a large bottle of ground cardamom for I dunno what. I suspect it was some recipe that needed a teaspoon. I did find some yummy-looking recipes for cardamom bread, I’m going to give those a whirl to try & use it up.
If you have any local gourmet or health-food stores, you might check them for spices. We’ve got several small stores around here that sell spices in tiny quantities (at one you could probably get just a teaspoon, a couple of others have them packaged with about a tablespoon or so). I love it. I can buy $1.00 of an oddball spice just to give it a try, or for a particular recipe, without wasting so much.
In the meantime, I’ve been adding cardamom to a lot of my meat recipes, along with the occasional allspice and clove and juniper (again, I don’t know why we have juniper, but I’m working through it slowly). If you look at old recipes, they use these spices a lot in savoury dishes.
So I highly recommend trying them in very small amounts in savoury dishes - they add a lovely layer of unusual flavor. Swedish meatballs is a good place to start, and then wander from there.
I use green cardamom in many sweet dishes. It makes for a unique flavor that most people can’t pin point. I don’t know how well the standard cardamom would work for this.
I would get some silica or other drying agent to go into the plastic bag with your spices. When possible, leave your spices whole. I have a set of spices that has been in my deep freezer for years, and as far as I can tell, it hasn’t changed. They don’t come out of the freezer very often though. I mainly use this as a source to restock the spices that I keep in my cabinet. All of these spices are whole, though I am about to give up on the cinnamon bark because it is a PITA to grind.