Spices should be stored away from direct sunlight, and preferably away from sources of heat. Many spices, both fresh and dried, can be safely stored for prolonged periods of time in the freezer, wrapped airtight. We recommend that you purchase spices from known sources who sell a lot of spices, and who will, therefore, have the freshest selection. This will insure the best flavor and longest storage life.
When choosing a spice rack, measure your space accurately, and allow enough room height wise for retrieving spice bottles or jars from the top shelf.
It is often helpful or necessary to grind spices for your recipes. For small quantities, you can use a mortar and pestle easily. For larger quantities, a small food processor or electric spice mill might work better and faster.
For consistency in your recipes, always pre-measure your spices and other ingredients. This is especially crucial when using pungent spices, and in all types of baking recipes. I find it most useful to pre-measure my spices into small ingredient bowls, as well as to get all the other ingredients together, before I begin preparing each recipe.
To flavor soups, roasts and other foods with whole spices, without leaving the spices in the food, use one of the larger tea infusers or the cotton garni bags. After cooking, you can safely retrieve the used spices, leaving only the flavor in your food.
