Spices are the soul of a recipe. These are what make the food exotic, flavourful and savory. If you have got your spices right, you can create an amazing eating experience.What most people do is they like to store the spices on the rack, a cupboard or an organized drawer. After use, many people tend to leave the lid off or the lid isn’t tightly closed. This kills the strong fragrance of the spices. While storing your spices you must know that ground as well as whole spices, if stored properly, can help bring out the most flavour in each spice. Thus, storing your spices is equally important as choosing them for your dishes.
Below are outlined some of the things to keep in mind when it comes to storing ground and whole spices-
Prefer to purchase whole spices rather than ground spices- For strong, nutty flavour or spices, you must purchase whole spices and not ground. You can buy Indian Spices Online UK from a reputable store. Whole spices remain intact in smell and can last for several years if stored properly. You can grind the whole spices into fine powder and store them as per usage. While on the other hand, ground spices need extra care while storing, otherwise they tend to lose their flavour if stored improperly.
Keep in Dry and Dark Place- Your kitchen kings, that is the spices, must be stored in a dry, dark space. Remember, air, moisture and light are the biggest enemies of spices. If you store your spices on a spice rack on the kitchen wall, make sure not to store the spices in clear bottles as this would expose them to too much light. It is best to choose steel tins for lightproof storage. Also, make sure your spice rack is placed far from the stove or oven as the heat will affect the flavour.
Where to Store the Spices- The best place to store the spices, either whole or ground, in a dry cabinet. If you buy whole spices in bulk from Indian grocery store online UK,you must preserve the value of your good range of spices by storing them in the fridge or freezer. Experts say that you can store the whole spices in the fridge for almost 2 to 3 years and the ground spices for 6 months! Don’t dump your spices now, store well to use for years.
Be Particular while Adding Spices to the Dishes- Don’t just dump spices directly into the dishes over the pots and pans, because this affect the quality of spices over time. When you do this the heat and steam coming from the stove causes condensation in the container. So, it is better to use a dry spoon and your hand away from the stove while adding them into the pot.
Keep an Eye on the Spices- Although you can store the spices properly to maintain its flavour, you must keep in mind that the spices may expire and it is important to know when to throw out the spices. While purchasing ground or whole spices, make sure to note the purchase date so you can keep track of how old your spices are.
