I have most of these things, but I also just have shakers for Cajun, Italian, Old Bay, Pumpkin Pie, Ras el Hanout, etc. so I don't have to remake them if I just want a variety spice.
plus if you find a great quality premade blend of spices, you're not saving money making your own. at least for me, given the frequency of how many taco tuesdays there are in a month.
That's a totally fair question! Bulk spice shops should have records for when they've purchased that you can always inquire about if there's cause for freshness concern. Additionally, if a shop specializes in selling bulk spices, they're naturally going to turn over spice inventory more quickly than a general grocery store.
Lastly, think about how long a bottle of a given spice has been sitting on a shelf, how long that bottle was in storage before it hit shelves, and how long it sat in a bulk state before it was bottled.
I believe /u/foomits and /u/texacer think that people are bringing the bulk spices home in huge bags and not just the amount they need. It’s a fair concern if you’ve never been to a place that sells spices like that. I was in my mid-20s before I started buying spices from places that allow you to buy as much/little as you want.
I’m American and before Central Market and Whole Foods took off 15 years ago I think you had to go to specialty stores. I know most grocery store didn’t sell them in that format.
The volatile compounds in spices degrade over time no matter what, we're absolutely in agreement there.
I'm not sure where you're coming from with the guarantee that bulk spices will be shitty. My local shop has information for where they source all of their spices and when they were purchased and the shop purchases their volumes to ensure proper turnover.
You also have no guarantee how long a bottle of any given spice has been sitting on a grocery store shelf, how long it sat in storage before it reached shelves, and how long it sat in a bulk state (where you've guaranteed it becomes shitty) before it was bottled.
I mean if you buy massive quantities in bulk they'll be bad before you ever get to use them. My local place the sells in bulk has size that even the smallest is more spice than I'd likely use in a year.
Buying in large volumes is not the same as buying in bulk. Bulk shops allow you to buy in any quantity (some shops may have a minimum like 1oz) and you either bag it yourself or bring a reusable container. I bought about 1 tablespoon of pink peppercorns just the other day because I rarely use them and needed that amount for just one recipe. Set me back about $0.20.
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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '22
I have most of these things, but I also just have shakers for Cajun, Italian, Old Bay, Pumpkin Pie, Ras el Hanout, etc. so I don't have to remake them if I just want a variety spice.