SPICES of Life (Whee! I Organized My Spices!)

My kitchen just received the second half of a subtle, but seriously major upgrade. 

First it was my pantry, whose deep shelves were so full that to access anything at the back required either a delicate dance of bottles or a deep excavation.  Andy Rigg of Brooklyn Bilt installed some hefty, load-bearing pull-out shelves and suddently, everything is different.  All my ingredients, from all-purpose flour to that obscure bottle of pekmez I lugged home from Istanbul now regularly see the light of day.

Equally revelatory, but a bit more complicated, was solving the problem of my spice cabinet.  Like my pantry, it was a scary, unchartered place, stuffed to over-brimming. The kind of place that was perilous to stand under, lest the jar of Sicilian chili flakes fall on your head. There were things in the far reaches and the dark corners that were totally inaccessible, and they langished so for years (this is no joke).  And to top it all off, the cabinet was dreadfully close to my stove,  far too close to the heat.  (Any self-respecting kitchen packrat like myself should know better than to endanger their precious hoard with unnecessary exposure to high temperatures.)  All I wanted for my spices was ease, visibility, and safety.  Not too much to ask, right?

(Frightening image, isn't it?)

And boy did I get it…in abundance.  I hadn’t really imagined how my lofty dreams might materialize, but Andy had the brilliant idea of crafting a series of shallow drawers in a space that was occupied by one large, deep drawer.  I immediately loved the idea, and so did Daniel, though we were temporarily scuttled when we discovered our cheapy line of Ikea cabinetry had been discontinued.  But a quick ebay search turned up exactly the components we needed, and a few clicks later we were back on track. 

With the drawers installed (seamlessly, I might add) the next step was clear—choosing uniform and handy containers.  My original spice cabinet had a hodgepodge of jars, boxes, tins, bottles, bags, matchboxes, handkerchiefs, you name it.  

At the opposite end of the spectrum, after much diddling around on the internet -- I mean studious research -- I found these. Square tins, with little clear lids, were an ideal solution.  They don’t roll!  They don’t turn!  They don’t fall on their sides!  In short, square tins make use of the real estate deeded to them with elegance and economy.

Tins chosen and drawers in place, next came The Great Spice Reckoning. 

It was time to look my spice cabinet squarely in the eye, and come face to face with the sweet or spicy or savory ghosts lingering within.  I piled everything into boxes and gradually went through them, one by one, jettisoning the bare minimum (hey, I said it already…I’m a kitchen packrat) with the gentle but firm encouragement of those around me. Daniel, Sunny, Sarah and Dahlia were my own personal SHA support group (that would be Spice Hoarders Anonymous). 

Naturally, I found some sentimental gems that I couldn’t bear to part with.  Mahleb, the tiny little stones from an ancient fertile crescent cherry known as St Lucie have been imparting their subtle almondy-fruitiness to baked goods for centuries—though my stash has only been around for a couple of years.  Black cardamom pods are so smoky and earthy they almost smell like bacon.  And those Thai long pepper corns never fail to intrigue me with their floral and piney heat. 

Dahlia came home from school to find me on the floor, surrounded by the mess, and declared in all her three year-old wisdom that “something smelled funny”.  And indeed, after sniffing many a mystery packet, I was a sneezy mess.  (A tin actually got labeled “Mystery Chili Powder”—I’m open to ideas of what to do with it!) 

Slowly but surely, order started to dominate the chaos.  And then the moment finally came—cue the Rocky theme song.  I put all my newly labeled tins into their new home, arranging them in my own whimsical way (chilis and sweet spices in the top drawer, herbs, seeds and everything else below). The satisfaction was extreme. 

At last count I had over 28 different types of chili products, not including the 5 different paprikas.  (Believe me, even I am amazed.)  Everything is readily available, handy, and oh-so organized.  I pull a handle to reveal the ground-up goodness of many a nation, lined up in friendly phalanxes.  The drawers almost feel like little libraries, and as I pull them out to browse, I’m looking over the recipes, trials and errors, and old familiar friends of my home-cooking life.  Really fun stuff.

Comments

[Panfusine]

Wow.. THANK YOU for the inspiration.. I have a terribly disorganized spice collection (which just keeps adding up with every visit to a grocery store), desperately in need of re-arranging. Any suggestions of perfect 'stackable' tins/ containers for larger quantities?

[Broadsheet]

Sigh.... This is going on Pinterest in my dream kitchen file.

[Helen Leah Conroy]

Wonderful story, wonderful results! Brilliant minds think alike, as they say. I just finished a reckoning of my own spice and vinegar shelves this week . . . and I know how splendid it feels. Amazing, isn't it, how restoring order in a corner of one's life like this can make such a difference? ;o)

[ATG]

I'm wondering what the 10 spices you can't live without are.

[Wendy Read]

I love this! I so much need to do this myself, you are an inspiration.

[Robin Aronson]

Wow. That is seriously compelling.

[nettie moore]

Wowza! I am impressed, it must feel so great to be so organized and be able to find the spice you want in a sec! Nettie

[A Reluctant Foodie]

It's a great feeling getting them in order isn't it? I r3ecently wrote a blog entry about our spices also. Guess February is spice month! http://areluctantfoodie.blogspot.com/2012/02/he-who-controls-spice-controls-universe.html

[Meg D]

How long can you keep spices? I have a really organized drawer (alphabetized and set in neat rows organized in a utensil rack) but some of the items go back more than a year. When should I put on the big girl pants and force myself to toss spices?

[Eleanor]

Meg D - whole (unground) spices have a near-indefinite shelf life. Ready-ground ones will lose flavour & aroma gradually with time (& light & heat) - but this will be minimised as long as they're in airtight containers, so those older than a year should still be just fine (plenty of my less-used spices are quite a bit older than that, but they're stored airtight in a dark cool place & are still fresh & pungent). When in doubt I'd say - use your nose!

[Kathy Metellus]

Melissa, either you will have to stop writing cookbooks or I will have to get a bigger bag! The new cookbook is great. One recipe that has already become a favorite is the lemony olive banana bread. I've made it four times already-twice in the form of a bundt, once as bread and also muffins. The flavors are spectacular together and the smells that come out of the oven are amzing- is it sweett? is it savory? So glad you got your spices organized. I too have many spices and after going in and out of my spice cabinet many times a day-I've found the best remedy is to just give them a quick straigtening out at the end of the week.

[fg]

My organizer (yes I have one) and I also organized a pantry and a closet full of appliances I don't have to have on the counter top...it was the most satisfying of experiences in a long time! One less thing to have in the back of your mind and that makes cooking so much more fun!

[Melvis Velour]

Good lord woman! Even Martha Stewart (or that insane efficiency expert that was profiled on Maki Itoh's Just Bento site) would be impressed!

It's just a little too orderly for this charter member of SHA - I love the thrill of the paw, open and sniff though, I did break down and purchase a box of the 100 cal ziploc's, attempt to figure out what hell some of this stuff was (Merquen anyone?) and label them for future use.

Guess the spring cleaning bug has bitten a lot of people...

[Melissa]

Panfusine - the website I link to above (specialtybottle.com) has all kinds of tins in different sizes, I'd look there.

ATG 5 of them would be chilies! black pepper, then cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, garam masala, clove, ginger.

Kathy - thank you!!

Melvis - I have merquen too! good stuff, spicy.