Making homemade seasonings and spices has never been easier! Save on your wallet and also have the freshest and most delicious custom blends. You probably have the ingredients for most of them right in your pantry!
How to Make Homemade Seasonings
In most cases, making homemade seasoning blends is as easy as mixing together a few popular spices. Others might include toasting or grinding, still easy techniques.
Here are a few tips for making seasonings:
- Ground spices stay fresh for up to 6 months. After 6 months they gradually lose potency and flavor. Mark the tops of your spices with the date you open them to ensure you always use full bodied blends.
- Leafy herbs like parsley or oregano can be rubbed between your palms to activate oils and make them more flavorful.
- Whole spices keep flavor longer. Buy whole cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and allspice berries and grind your own to get the freshest flavor.
- Keeping spices you don’t use frequently in the freezer can extend their shelf life.
- Toasting spices and herbs in a dry pan can reactivate flavors or transform their profile into something else completely!
Storage
Spices should be kept in airtight containers, either plastic or glass, in a dark and dry place without high temperatures. Excessive sunlight can reduce potency, so keeping them alongside your stove or on a shelf above your stove can actually reduce their flavor.
Hot temperatures and humid conditions can also contribute to them losing taste faster.
Spices you don’t use frequently can be kept in the freezer to preserve flavor.
Making homemade seasonings and spices has never been easier! Save on your wallet and also have the freshest and most delicious custom blends. You probably have the ingredients for most of them right in your pantry!
How to Make Homemade Seasonings
In most cases, making homemade seasoning blends is as easy as mixing together a few popular spices. Others might include toasting or grinding, still easy techniques.
Here are a few tips for making seasonings:
- Ground spices stay fresh for up to 6 months. After 6 months they gradually lose potency and flavor. Mark the tops of your spices with the date you open them to ensure you always use full bodied blends.
- Leafy herbs like parsley or oregano can be rubbed between your palms to activate oils and make them more flavorful.
- Whole spices keep flavor longer. Buy whole cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and allspice berries and grind your own to get the freshest flavor.
- Keeping spices you don’t use frequently in the freezer can extend their shelf life.
- Toasting spices and herbs in a dry pan can reactivate flavors or transform their profile into something else completely!
Storage
Spices should be kept in airtight containers, either plastic or glass, in a dark and dry place without high temperatures. Excessive sunlight can reduce potency, so keeping them alongside your stove or on a shelf above your stove can actually reduce their flavor.
Hot temperatures and humid conditions can also contribute to them losing taste faster.
Spices you don’t use frequently can be kept in the freezer to preserve flavor.