Spice Jars and Racks

[JRinPA]

This is hard to type but I need options.

I am going insane with the spice drawer, the lazy susan's in the floor height cabinets, and ridiculous array of jars and bottles.

Does anyone here use their own containers to hold purchased spices?

I remember when practically everything in the spice drawer was glass McCormick jars. Pretty sure mom used to refill them with spices from plastic bottles or bags. They fit well in the spice drawer. At some point there were just too many spices and not enough room. That point was probably 20 years ago...Too many "new" spices with the internet age.

I would love to see some sell thought out spice racks. Not tormato seed style....I HAVE that...

[worth1]

I've got spices scattered all over the place.
Some in the original containers that I put them in from buying in bulk.
I try to be organized but it just isn't working.

[habitat-gardener]

I arrange my spices by category, not alphabetically. That way, they never have to be rearranged when I get something new.
They are in labeled dollar-store baskets (6x10x2.5 in.) on a repurposed Ikea bookshelf in the kitchen, so each basket can be pulled out to choose.
I label the tops of every jar (small paper label affixed with invisible tape).
Many of my jars are Penzey's or Trader Joe's or Spicely or Frontier jars -- all about the same size -- plus a few that are different.
But because I don't use a traditional spice rack, it doesn't matter if the jars are not exactly alike.
If needed, I even use half-pint mason jars, especially for blends I make.
I also wash and reuse (and relabel) spice jars as needed.
The shelves are 5.5 in. high, just enough room for the containers. I use 4-5 shelves.

Some of the categories are
salt, pepper, and blends
cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, ginger, cardamom
oregano, marjoram, thyme
chili powder, different types of chili
paprika, smoked paprika, blends
garlic, onion
etc.
This makes the jars easy to find and easy to put back.
Some baskets are unlabeled and include a bunch of blends that are used rarely.

This system has worked incredibly well for at least 5 years, for both cooks in the house.
Anything that gets used just needs to be returned to the correct basket, not to a specific position on a shelf.
No comparison to a jumble of jars on a high cabinet shelf!

I buy some herbs and spices in bulk. Those are kept in mason jars -- quart or pint, as appropriate -- in a dark pantry closet.
The mason jar lids keep everything fresh.
They all stay at least as fresh as anything I might buy from the bulk section of the store, and they last for years.

[pepperhead212]

I have 2 drawers with spices, the first drawer with almost all the same sized spice jars, saved many years ago, with a few larger and smaller ones. And in that drawer I highlight the top labels, with orange, for sweet spices, green for herbs, and yellow for the rest. The second drawer beneath it has mostly larger jars.
One of the spice drawers by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And when I started making a lot of Indian food, I made up 4 boxes of spices - one of the spice mixes, one of the spices I use the most, one of misc., lesser used spices, and one of larger jars of things like cumin and coriander, that I use to refill the jars in the smaller jars, and in the kitchen drawers, or when using a large amount of some of them, when making masalas. I often need 8-10, or even more of those "most used" spices in a dish, and it makes it easy to measure them out into spice cups, then put the box back.
Two of the boxes of the Indian spices. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Less used Indian spices by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And almost all of these I have extra of in a basement tub, that I keep sealed in Foodsaver bags, and just put however much I would use in a few months - depending on what it is, and if it is ground. I just snip the corner of bags, and refill the jars, then re-seal the bags, with the Foodsaver, then put the sealed bags into the 2 gal ziplocs - one for sweet spices, one for chili powders, one for Indian, and one for SE Asian, and more Indian. I have an inventory of what's in the different bags, and how much.

[worth1]

Cumin freshly ground in the freezer in canning jars.

[Tormahto]

Cumin freshly ground in the freezer in canning jars.

First dry roasted on the stove top?

[worth1]

Cumin freshly ground in the freezer in canning jars.

First dry roasted on the stove top?

I rarely toast cumin on the stove top but sometimes I do with the seeds before they are ground.
Some people do when they make salsas along with others like black peppercorns and so on.
It's interesting how different cultures treat the same spices and herbs.

[Tormahto]

Cumin freshly ground in the freezer in canning jars.

First dry roasted on the stove top?

I rarely toast cumin on the stove top but sometimes I do with the seeds before they are ground.
Some people do when they make salsas along with others like black peppercorns and so on.
It's interesting how different cultures treat the same spices and herbs.

I always roast cumin seeds. I don't know if it changes the flavor much, but ohhh the aroma!

[worth1]

Cumin freshly ground in the freezer in canning jars.

First dry roasted on the stove top?

I rarely toast cumin on the stove top but sometimes I do with the seeds before they are ground.
Some people do when they make salsas along with others like black peppercorns and so on.
It's interesting how different cultures treat the same spices and herbs.

I always roast cumin seeds. I don't know if it changes the flavor much, but ohhh the aroma!

I love the smell and taste of cumin too.
It is one of my favorite spices.
I do feel that heating the seeds let's the fragrant oil escape into the air and not into the food.
But I do it anyway with seeds.
Indians and other Asians are famous for toasting their spices and it does change the flavor.

[habitat-gardener]

IMG_1469.jpeg

[JRinPA]

hmm better than what I'm dealing with for sure.
what drives me nuts is the various jar shapes and heights.

[JRinPA]

Just had some boerewors for the first time. The whole coriander should have been toasted but was not. I'm not sure how much that affected the final taste.

[habitat-gardener]

hmm better than what I'm dealing with for sure.
what drives me nuts is the various jar shapes and heights.

Having identical jars would drive me nuts. It'd look more like a decoration than something that is of use!

[worth1]

hmm better than what I'm dealing with for sure.
what drives me nuts is the various jar shapes and heights.

Having identical jars would drive me nuts. It'd look more like a decoration than something that is of use!

Too funny
But true.

[JRinPA]

All I know it that they used to fit in the spice drawer in mccormick glass jars. They would lay flat. Whereas oddball plastic shapes get squeezed up, lodge on opening the drawer, fall off the back of the lazy susans and cause never ending confusion and waste time.
At one point I was going color code the lazy susans, to keep them organized. But I knew it would be "I left the cumin out because there was no room in the green section and I'm not supposed to put it anywhere else".

[worth1]

Here's one for ya.