Should You Toss Your Spices In The Bin?

Most people use a balance of aromatic whole spices and ground spices in the majority of homes in India; ground spices form the base of the dish, and the other ingredients such as garlic, onions and tomatoes bring layers of flavour. Ground spices are very important, and shouldn’t be omitted. On the other hand, whole spices add deep and rich qualities to the dish. You can tell from a whiff of aroma which whole spices have been added. You can certainly swap ground and whole spices for one another (for example cinnamon powder and cinnamon stick), but one has to be very careful not to miscalculate the ratio. It takes a very tiny pinch of ground spice to make up for a whole spice.  

If you’ve been travelling often and been buying all those spices at every local shop, then you could have some trouble letting go of these spices. If you’ve bought these spices in bulk, chances are that the packets have not been opened till date. Years later, you’ll find that there really was no point in having saved them. So now is the time to start using them…otherwise, off they go in the bin!   

The general rule is that ground spices should be tossed out after a year. Whole spices may last as long as 3-4 years. If you’ve stored them in airtight containers without labelling the jars, then there might not be a way of telling how long they’ve been sitting in your spice cabinet. In these cases, you’ll have to do a sniff test — take a pinch of the spice and rub it between two fingers. Then sniff it…if this is a spice that has been used many times but has no scent anymore then it needs to go in the bin. Sometimes, there are other reasons why you need to toss the spices in the bin. These include but are not limited to: being exposed to heat, not being stored in the right place, exposure to moisture, insects creeping in and so on. Here, we just want to share about cases in which people hold onto their spices, and just cannot let go for no odd reason..it's almost strange.  

Sometimes, tossing out your spices might seem like a mammoth task because you have collected them over the years. In fact, it's almost like the hobby of collecting postage stamps. But you'll find that after the expiration date has passed, these spices bring a disagreeable flavour to the dish.  

Most of us do not label the expiry date on the jars in which we keep the spices. As such, we cannot tell when to toss them out. If you just bought a packet of red chilli powder and were going to store it in an airtight container, do not forget to label the expiry date.  

When you read the expiry date on the back of the spices jar, what that essentially indicates is the time period when the spices will begin to lose their flavour and strength. When people regularly keep a check on the expiry date, they will toss out the jars on time so that they don’t accidentally use those spices while cooking. 

Decluttering your spice cabinet is so important. You may think that if a spice has lost flavour, then it’s better to use more of it to be able to bring out a flavour in a dish. No matter how much you add to the dish, old spices can never bring the same quality to the dish. Why not just toss them out? You might find a jar in the market that smells so fresh and so different from your jars of old spices.