6 December 2006
How Old Is Your Nutmeg?
Do you remember when you bought the marjoram that’s sitting in your spice cabinet? What about the anise seed? Almond extract? It was probably longer ago than you think. A good habit to get into is keeping a Sharpie in the kitchen, and then when you open any new spice or extract, write the date on the jar. You’ll be surprised at how long rarely used spices will sit around. And in case you’re wondering what the shelf life of your sage is, here’s a handy guide:
ground spices: 2–3 years
whole spices: 3–4 years
seasoning blends: 1–2 years
herbs: 1–3 years
extracts: 4 years
Pure vanilla extract actually lasts practically forever. I used to bake cookies and banana bread a lot during senior year at CMU, and Liz once said I was the only person she knew who went through multiple bottles of vanilla during a single year at university.
For more tips on how to best handle and store spices, visit McCormick’s site. Here you will also find a Date Code Decoder into which you can input the date code from any McCormick spice to find out how old it is.
2 comments for “How Old Is Your Nutmeg?”
This is helpful, thanks. I have a jar of Vanilla Bean Paste that seemed to go bad after 6 months. I wonder if that falls under a different category (I was so bummed that it happened!)
said Kelli on 12 December 2006 at 0:05Nice site Becky. A modern day Martha Stewart but much better.
said Corey on 3 January 2007 at 1:09