How to Get the Most Out of Your Spices

Spices are not indestructible. They lose potency from the day they are ground, and how you store and use them decides whether they taste of anything at all.

Storage

Keep them away from light and heat. Both degrade the volatile oils that carry aroma, and those oils are the entire reason you bought the spice. A closed cupboard is better than a pretty rack on the wall, and much better than a shelf above the stove — which is the worst place in any kitchen and where most people keep them.

Airtight containers. Oxygen does slow damage over months.

Buy whole, grind as needed. Whole spices hold their character for two to three years. Ground spices are finished in six months to a year — sometimes less. Cumin, coriander and cardamom in particular go flat fast once ground, and the difference between freshly ground cumin and a jar opened last year is not subtle.

A small coffee grinder kept only for spices is one of the cheapest improvements you can make to your cooking.

Getting more out of them

Crush dried herbs in your palm as you add them. Rubbing them between your hands warms them and breaks open the cell walls, which releases the oils. Thyme, oregano and rosemary respond noticeably.

Toast whole spices before grinding. Thirty seconds in a dry pan until they smell fragrant — no longer, or they turn bitter. This is the single step that separates a good curry from a dull one.

Bloom ground spices in fat, early. Cumin, coriander, paprika and turmeric need heat and oil to open up. Add them to the pan after the onions and before the liquid, and give them 20 to 30 seconds. Added later, straight into liquid, they taste raw and dusty.

The exception: delicate spices go in late. Garam masala, sumac, ground cinnamon in a dessert, and anything you added for aroma rather than depth — these lose their top notes to long cooking. Add them in the last few minutes.

For cold dishes, season well ahead. Without heat to drive it, flavor takes time to distribute. A yogurt sauce or a marinade needs at least 30 minutes, and is better after a few hours.

Dry your own. Mint, oregano, thyme and bay all dry easily — hang them in bunches somewhere dark with air movement. What you dry yourself will be stronger than anything on a shelf, because you know how old it is.

On bay leaves

Fresh bay is far more aromatic than dried, and worth using where you can find it. But keep it in check: bay turns bitter with long cooking. One leaf for a pot, and lift it out after an hour.