What lasts longer? Ground or uncrushed spices?

Non-crushed spices such as ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, peppercorns and cinnamon sticks can be stored for up to four years. In the process, they lose none of their flavor. Aniseed, dill seeds, coriander seeds and cloves are even tasty for one year longer, i.e. five years.

However, as soon as these flavour carriers are crushed, like ground nutmeg, they lose their seasoning power after just a few months. Therefore, they should be stored in a light-protected and airtight container.

However, especially in food production, you have to weigh up whether you can sensibly integrate the additional effort into your production chain. This is because whole spices and herbs are generally more difficult to process or can only be processed by pretreatment (crushing, grinding).

How to properly store herbs and spices?

In order to enjoy your spice variety for a long time, you should store it in a dry place. This way, spoilage germs have no chance to harm them. If spices and herbs are stored correctly, i.e. in an airtight, dry, light-protected and cool place, they have a virtually eternal shelf life when unopened. Store your spices individually in tins or jars with an airtight seal. Do not hang your spice rack directly above or next to the stove. Because the heat can affect the smell and taste.

Still edible or not?

You can easily answer this question yourself with a smell or taste test. Opened spices may be exposed to external influences such as light and moisture. This provides an ideal breeding ground for mold and even food moths. In these cases, the herbs and spices should of course not be used.

In all other cases, the following applies: If the best-before date has already been exceeded, but the herbs and spices are still unopened, they are usable and edible.

Ehlert as supplier for herbs and spices

We pay attention to the highest quality in the production of our herb variety and seasoning blends. This is backed up by many years of experience as a supply chain specialist for food processing companies.

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