I continue to use those spices and herbs and also my refrigerator door is full of condiments that are equally ancient that I also continue to use.

Condiments are full of salt and vinegar which in earlier times were the preservatives of choice.

I feel I am one of the best “guinea pigs” you will ever have to test how “bad” certain foods are.

I agree that we in the developed world have very high standards for health, but we also typically have longer life expectancies as a result. Food-borne illnesses play a large role in these differences of life expectancy. Just because the developing world does it one way, doesn’t mean that it is the healthiest way.

Spices don’t “go bad”, they do, however, lose potency. Save your money and simply use a little more or replace if they are tasteless.

Spices are expensive. Of course the companies want you to replace/buy more. Not necessary. We are so duped in this country about our “dangerous food”.

Fresher spices aren’t uncluttered. And the wide variety of spice racks, shelves, and lazy susans won’t help either: The label is usually 1/3 or more from the top of the container. In the example above, where “Sage” is barely 1/4 from the bottom! And the top of each brand’s containers look identical unless your containers are all full (and if they are, what’s the point?)

It’s easy to fix, as I did: Make labels for all the lids:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?.....5FDAXA36TV

But it’d also be an easy way for a spice maker to distinguish itself. Among three of four brands, that don’t vary greatly by price, I frankly pick the cheapest – but I’d pay a few cents more for (and replace my outdated spices with) containers with usefully labeled lids!

-eg

Verily asked about a good spice rack/bottles. I use the Lee Valley tools (mail order / catalogue store in Canada and US) has metal containers. I just glue a magnet onto the side and keep them in a cool pantry. I don’t have a normal rectangular walk in pantry instead there is one wall that is at a weird angle. Attaching a metal sheet to the crazy wall allows me to finally use this space and not sacrifice precious shelf space.

The metal container has a million and one uses for other things and it does have glass opening in the lid so you can peer into it.

The magnets have another use when I’m doing a huge weekend of cooking – the bottles can be fixed to an old cookie sheet in the order needed and easily moved back and forth.

My own clutter problem is that I have millions of little bulk spice packets. Currently, they’re stored in a plastic container but that doesn’t make them very accessible when I need a particular spice. Does anyone know of a good spice rack that is wall mountable and can hold a good sized number of jars? I probably have enough different spices to fill up 40ish containers.

My poor, poor mother disagrees. ‘I didn’t bring that with me from the old house. It can’t be more than a few years.’

JB
UK

Actually, that’s not quite right. Buying small, prepackaged containers is the surest way to get spice that’s already lost most of its oomph. Some better solutions:

1. generally buy thing that are whole instead of pre-ground, and grind them yourself (spice grinder, mortar & pestle, etc.)

2. buy things in large quantities, as they’ll generally keep their flavor longer when grouped with more of the same

3. stocking up more frequently, buying small amounts from bulk bins if you’ve got a high-end grocery that sells that way

4. grow your own if possible

Here is a great website for tips on how to store spices. It also lists their approximate shelf life

http://www.theepicentre.com/tip/spicetips.html