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We do a combo of things for our spices (and flour & such...) containers are the first line of defense...airtight as you can get, (we have bins that have a seal & snap lock) some spices are best not refrigerated, they get sealed with rice. Others like garlic & onion powders are in the frig... Also be aware that there are critters here that can get into many packages...so all of those are in sealed containers... and flour, pasta, sugar are all in other sealed containers. Opening cabinets & frig here looks like an ad for a container store!
DH's old college study mate was from India & his family kept their spices in SS thali like bin of bins (much like a big cookie tin with many smaller cookie tins inside) They had one for herbs & one for spices)I have never gone that route, but if I grew more of my spices....
Many offices & some kitchens have a cabinet with a light in it (offices for the envelopes, kitchens for the spices) the heat from the light will help keep the items dry....but ya gotta be sure the light you select puts out heat....some of the newer LEDs do not put out enough heat...most others do...AND keep things that are flammable away from the light bulb if it gets very warm...
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Mimosa that would work if that was the only "spices" I was using. Many times though, I use spices that cannot be found locally at any store so I must order them online and have them delivered. And since I'm ordering online I try to order enough to make several dishes, not just the one I want to cook.
I also noticed that quite a few of the more exotic spices that are available here have lost a lot of the flavor, maybe because they are not purchased as often so they sit around longer? I'm not sure.
Anyway, when I'm mixing up my own berbere spice I don't like clumpy spices and I don't like to drive all over town looking for stuff so I tend to order online in larger amounts and risk them going bad.
I'll try to keep most of mine in the fridge from now on and see how that works out.
Dayna
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Dayna Robertson
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I put ANYTHING I open and do not use all of, in a Ziploc. Rice, sugar, cookies, chips etc..
Any suggestion son where to buy a mortar and pestle here ? or Amazon ?
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quote:
Originally posted by Oneself
I don't know about all spices though, because bread actually goes stale 6x faster in the fridge.
Not here. Buy 2 loaves. Put one in the fridge and leave one out. Tell me what you have after 5-7 days. As long as you keep it sealed, the fridge one will be fine.
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Oneself, amazon has nice mortar and pestle, but there is also a gourmet kitchen store in Hilo. They have all kinds of stuffs, I could spend hours in there. I'm sure they have various sizes.
Oh and about the ziplocks, there is a beetle bug here that chews right through that. So ziplocks only kinda work.
Dayna
http://www.FarmingAloha.com
www.E-Z-Caps.com
Dayna Robertson
At Home Hawaii
Real Estate Sales and Property Management
RS-85517
Dayna.JustListedInHawaii.com
Dayna.Robertson@gmail.com
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Bought my mortar and pestle from Kilauea Market, an oriental grocery store in Hilo, a few years ago. It's carved out of a granite rock and made in Thailand. Paid about $20 for 5.5" inside diam. and 3" deep, IIRC. Very solid pieces and well worth the money. They still sell these items when I was there a month or two ago.
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Mortar pestle:
Have found various ones, inc. basalt 'poi pounders' (many diff shops w/Hawaiian themed items)
Granite & other types from Macys, Ross, Kilauea Market, the Asian supply store in Hilo Shopping Center
Many cooking types at Paradise Restaurant Supply on Kamehameha (Bayfront)
We bought our porcelain one from mainland, but have gotten a few others here
ADD: Re: beetle bugs, also pantry moths will eat through unopened plastic & ziplocks....be aware that some of the shops here do have infestations...look carefully at the packages of things like flour, rice, pasta, beans & esp pet foods - we have found those tell tale small holes (slightly larger than a true 'pin hole') in all of these...
which is WHY we put everything in a container (that & I HATE pantry moths & those beetle things in my food & kitchen) If there is anything in one or the above, it will not spread to all of our food...
pet food in our house is stored out of the kitchen & in pet food only containers, due to the amount of infestations we have found in the past...
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From the "article" about bread, you need to read the fine print.
"Current methods by large scale bread bakers involve using artificial ingredients that slow the natural dehydration process. Thus, most widely manufactured bread will mold long before staling ever occurs."
So as I said, keep it tightly sealed, in the fridge. This is Hawaii, not the mainland.
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Just try the experiment instead of getting all bent out of shape.
One loaf in the fridge, one on the counter. The one in the fridge will not be hard and stale in a few days, unless you don't seal it up. That means, slightly squeeze the air out of the wrapping before sealing it. The bread isn't different but the salty/humid air sure is.
