How to Build a Well-Stocked Spice Cabinet

How To Build A Well-Stocked Spice Cabinet. 7 great tips and a shopping list for starting your spice collection from scratch!

I’ve had a few requests for tips on stocking a pantry, so I thought I would start with my favorite place: The spice cabinet! I keep a pretty wide selection of dried herbs and spices on hand because you never know when the mood to cook might strike you. I have a table of dried herbs and spices to share with you, but first, I want to start off with some tips.

Tips for Stocking and Storing Your Spice Cabinet

1. Start by purchasing the most commonly used herbs and spices.

You may decide to go out and stock your entire spice cabinet with all the basics at once, or you may buy these one at a time as you need them for a recipe. I get frustrated at having to buy spices for every single recipe I make, so I typically go and get them all at once when setting up a new kitchen. (This is also a fun and useful house warming/wedding gift!)

2. Wait for big cooking holidays to find a great spice sale.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter often mean that spices and baking ingredients go on sale. I saw spices at our local grocery priced at 4/$10 or buy-one-get-one just before Thanksgiving. Considering that some of them can be $6-10/each, that’s a great deal!

3. Quality Matters

You don’t necessarily have to pay more to get higher quality spices, but the herbs and spices you can find at a specialty spice shop are typically much fresher and more flavorful than your local supermarket special. Just think about how long they may have been in a jar, stored in a warehouse, and on the shelf before you buy them at the grocery. That being said, pick your priorities. You probably don’t need fancy parsley flakes, but you really should pick up a jar of Vietnamese cassia cinnamon at Penzey’s if you have the chance. (I’m an addict!) 

4. Herbs and spices lose their potency over time – replace them often. 

Ever make a spicy recipe and find out it’s fairly mild? Or have a dish not turn out very good? That’s often because the herbs or spices have lost their potency. Herbs are just dried leaves, seeds or flowers, so they tend to lose potency fairly quickly. You should typically replace them every 6-12 months. To check them: rub the herbs between your fingers, and if they don’t let off a strong scent, they’ve probably lost their oomph and need to be replaced. Spices, which are aromatic or pungent vegetable substances (like cloves, cinnamon, etc.), tend to last 12-24 months. To check them: they should have a strong scent when you open the container. If they’ve started losing potency, but you can’t bear to toss them out, just use more of the herbs or spices than the amount called for in the recipe. 

5. Mark the toss date with a permanent marker on the bottle or jar when you open it. 

This helps you know when you should toss, replace, or at least check the contents the next time you pull down the jar. I prefer to mark things with a “toss date” rather than an open date because then I don’t have to do math later on. For example: I opened a new jar of ground cumin today, so I marked it with the date 1/21/2016. I’ll glance at the date each time I pull it down for a recipe, and know when that date gets close that I should think about grabbing a new one the next time I go to a store. 

6.  Only buy what you can use. 

Since they only last about a year or less, you probably don’t want to buy them in Costco-sized quantities unless you’re frequently cooking for large crowds. You can find bulk spices at specialty spice stores (Like Penzey’s and Savory’s Spice Shop) and stores that have bulk bins (like Sprouts, Whole Foods, etc.). These are great places to get just a few teaspoons of something you don’t use often for a recipe, or find things at cheaper prices. You should also check out your local ethnic grocery stores for cheap, super-fresh spices in smaller quantities. 

7. Store them in sealed jars in a cool, dry, dark place. 

If you store them properly, you can help your herbs and spices last a lot longer. You don’t want to put them in the fridge because they’ll pick up or add flavors of the foods around them, but you do want to keep them from withering in the sunlight on your counter. You also want to keep them away from the heat of the stove, so I personally don’t store them in the cabinets above or beside the stove. I keep mine in sealed glass, screw-top jars on a lazy Susan in a closed cupboard near my baking ingredients and mixing bowls. (They’re also in alphabetical order and sorted with herbs on one level and spices on another – totally not necessary, but I can always find them!) 

 

Here’s a table of what’s currently in my spice cabinet

Feel free to use it as a starting point for stocking your own spice cabinet. I’ve split it up by what I’d consider “common” herbs and spices that everyone should keep on hand, and then what I keep in my pantry as my more “specialized” herbs and spices. Your personal preferences will vary depending on what types of cuisine you like to cook. 

 [table id=1 /]

What’s in your spice cabinet?