If you do any cooking at home, chances are you have bottles of spices close at hand.
If you’ve created the perfect look in your kitchen, you may have invested in a spinning rack to be convenient to your cooktop. Your spices may be sitting or hanging on a rack behind your cooking range.
But is that the best spot? Maybe not.
Keeping them close at hand is a must. It’s the only way you’ll have them readily available and at hand as you make your dishes. If you want to revolutionize your dishes, however, move your spices to the kitchen drawer.
According to Padma Lakshmi, author of the book The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs, where you keep your spices does matter. You should never store them in a place where they will be impacted by the sun or by the heat of the stove. It can degrade the quality of your spices quickly.
That means it’s time to get rid of the spice rack behind the oven, or stop storing them in the cupboard next to the window.
Instead, find a drawer where you can tuck them away. Some place that’s easily accessible to you while you cook, yet keeps your spices cool and dry until you need them again.
Also, pay attention to the quality of the spices you use. If you can’t remember when you purchased a bottle, it’s probably time to replace it. If you have the time, it’s also worth grinding them yourself. Not only will whole spices last longer, but when you use freshly ground spices, they will add an entirely different dimension of flavor to your dishes.
If you don’t have a spice grinder, invest in one. You can purchase an inexpensive one from your favorite cooking store. Or try a coffee grinder or a molcajete – a small stone tool used for grinding various food products.
It’s equally important to use spices throughout the cooking process, not just dumping them in one at a time and moving on. Think of your foods needing to be seasoned from start to finish. Foods cook at different temperatures, and are more susceptible to outside influences at different times during the process.
Cooking is all about experimentation. If you have fun with the process, you’re more likely to try new things. Taste as you go. If it tastes good to you, you’ve probably done something right.