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Most Indian spices come in sealed boxes which have to be discarded if you want to store your masalas for a longer time. It’s not ideal to leave masalas open in boxes since spices are highly sensitive to air, moisture, light, and heat, and when left in open or improperly sealed boxes, they are prone to losing their flavour, aroma, and potency over time.
When masalas are exposed to air, the essential oils in the spices begin to oxidize, leading to a loss of flavour and aroma. The longer they are exposed, the quicker they deteriorate. This can result in bland-tasting spices that fail to enhance your dishes as they normally would.
Humidity is another major factor that can affect masalas in open boxes. Spices can absorb moisture from the air, leading to clumping and loss of their dry, powdery texture. Moisture can also cause mold or bacterial growth, making the spices unusable. Moreover, exposure to direct sunlight or even bright indoor lighting can break down the natural compounds in the spices.
However, most Indian kitchens use at least 10-15 different kinds of spices and allocating different containers for each of them can be a hassle. What if you could store masalas in their original boxes in a safe way?
Digital content creator Shashank Alshi who is known for his tech, kitchen and home hacks recently shared a solution for those who want to store their spices in their respective boxes without affecting their quality. “Cut the small side flaps of the packet and fold the longer and parallel ones as shown in the video and it's sealed,” he tells his followers.
Once the small side flaps have been done away with, you can put the longer flaps together and fold them to close the box. You can also use sealing bag clips on these boxes to properly seal them off and protect them against bugs. Though the jury is still out on whether this hack is a legitimate one for storing spices, the Internet had a lot to say about this viral hack.
“I've found anything kept this way gets bugs quite soon, especially in cooler, damp weather as it is not airtight. Best to remove the contents into a sealed glass or pet jar. The contents stay far far longer,” wrote a follower.
“Fir reopen bhi karna hota hai bhai, itna time kaha. Open-close me sabji pak jayegi,” wrote another. Another social media user wrote, “I tried this but some powder still gets hard as this method is not airtight. It's good though from spilling point of view.”
