Spice Cabinet Basics: Selection, Storage, Use

In most home kitchens, the spice cabinet is full of jars older than five years. Beyond salt and pepper, the rest of the spices open once a month, sit for years on the shelf, and slowly lose their aroma. When a dish gives a sour "something is missing" feeling, the cause is usually not the recipe but the spices in the cabinet long past their usefulness.

Storage and selection become easier once you understand spice science. This article gathers shelf-life information, the spices distinctive to Turkish cuisine, and the simple habits that need refreshing at home.

Spice science: why does the aroma disappear?

The character of a spice is defined by its volatile oils. These are small aromatic molecules that sit protected inside the seed or bud of a plant. The moment they are ground, exposed to heat, or in contact with air, those molecules evaporate. "The spice has lost its smell" is, in the literal sense, the molecules leaving the environment.

There are two enemies: oxidation and evaporation.

• Oxidation: contact with air. Oxygen breaks down the volatile oil molecules and leads to a rancid (bitter) note.
• Evaporation: in spices stored near a heat source, volatile oils diffuse at the molecular level. When you next open the jar, what is left has no smell.