Because I grow and dry a lot of my own herbs and purchase
the rest in bulk, I tend to end up with a lot of unmarked baggies stashed in my
kitchen cabinets or overflowing out of bowls and baskets on my counter. I’m not
sure if the sight would be a DEA agent’s nightmare or dream. I am certain,
however, that after having to sniff-test a half a dozen baggies before finding
the herb I needed recently, it was time to clean up the suspicious mess.
Once I pulled everything from the cabinets, baskets, and
bowls, I realized that most of the smaller spice bottles I’d been using would
no longer be large enough for my most heavily used herbs like basil, oregano,
parsley, and bay leaves. I also needed to find a better way to store canning
and soapmaking ingredients that I purchase in large quantities like dill seed,
mustard seed, celery seed, chamomile, and lavender. Pint- and half-pint-sized
canning jars to the rescue!
When all was said and done, the spice cabinet was refilled
neatly with the smaller jars of lesser used items like ground turmeric,
paprika, cream of tarter, rosemary, etc., and the larger jars were placed on an
open shelf under my cabinets that used to hold decorative items and never
stayed neat. So much better!
By the way, before you say anything about the herbs losing
flavor when stored too long, you need to know that I use a ridiculous amount of
herbs in my cooking. Most of my current supplies will be pretty depleted by the
time my plants are ready to be harvested again. Plus, I store the herbs that I’ve
dried as whole as possible, leaving plenty of flavor in the leaves that won’t
be released until I crush the leaves during cooking.
Thanks for stopping by! After the crazy school year we had,
it really felt good to put something in order. Does your supply of herbs and
spices rival a gourmet chef’s or are you cautious when it comes to spicing up
your food? What’s your trick for keeping it all organized?
Grace and peace be
yours in abundance,
Betty
I just love storing things in jars. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Marcia
I've got a pretty good-sized spice and herb collection, though not quite as big as yours. I have about 20 must-haves and occasionally I'll go buy something exotic (to me) to try out. I keep it organized in a spice cabinet for the smaller bottles, and a shelf for all the big bags and jars of bulk stuff.
ReplyDeleteThat's what my spice cabinet looks like, only not as well labeled. Love the canning jars! They have so many uses.
ReplyDeleteI use a lazy susan in my spice cabinet which makes finding the spice I need easy -- just spin. I'm loving those neatly lined up jars full of herbs!
ReplyDeleteI love to use canning jars and glass jars to store things too.
ReplyDeleteI discovered the mason canning jar trick this past fall when I finally had an abundance of home dried herbs. I also leave the leaves whole and crush them only when I am going to use them, and they are on an open shelf and they last perfectly fine from fall until spring when the new growth comes in. Then I have a drawer storage for things like "Christmas spices" (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc - which I don't use only at Christmas, but that I ALWAYS use at Christmas) and a big crock jar with a lid for "canning spices" which is full of plastic bags. That part needs to change as I noticed the other day when I opened it up that everything smelled like dill. Maybe I will try mason jars for those too. Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteThanks Betty! Great idea.
ReplyDeleteI would love to here how you harvest your herbs. To freeze or dry is alway my question.