Dried Spices and Herbs

wdan

It seems that many of the cooking shows I watch talk about dry herbs and spices in the sense that they have some kind of expiration date. Most seem to that there is a 2-year shelf life. If these critters is dry, how come they can expire? I've got some "older" looking boxes of stuff in my spice cabinet and wonder a lot about:
A. Why I've kept them so long
and
B. Are they TRULY "expired?"
This almost sounds like a George Carlin thing.

Seattle Todd

WDAN,[p]They don't truly 'expire' but they lose a lot of potency. Some do within 6 months and others take longer depending on their chemical makeup. I think at worst you'll just have to use more while seasoning to taste if they're old.[p]Todd

BlueSmoke

Smoke and Beers,
You hit the nail on the head - the oils in the herbs and spices are released into the air. How much is anybody's guess, but it makes it difficult to standardize a recipe if "today's teaspoon" has to be "tomorrow's tablespoon" to compensate for oil loss.[p]For best results, buy herbs and spices in the smallest quantities necessary (so you use them up quickly), buy from a merchant who sells lots of spice (so they don't spend a long time on the shelf), and when possible grind your own (nutmeg comes to mind here).[p]HTH
Ken

Nature Boy

WDAN,
As was mentioned below, certain spices hold up better than others. Light, heat and air accelerate the process.Your nose and tongue are the ony things that'll tell you for sure. You could go to the grocery store and buy a bottle of ground coriander seed, and it will likely already be "expired". I have never seen pre-ground coriander seed that smelled or tasted anything like a fresh ground seed. [p]On the other hand, we have some 4 year old fine pre-ground black pepper that we really love using around the house. It has lost a lot of it's pungency, but a lot of great flavor remains. I call it "aged pepper", and we love the mild black pepper flavor.[p]So, it depends what you mean by "expired". Some of your stuff might be pleasently aged, most of it might be ready for the compost pile. Let your nose be the judge! You might find you like some of the qualities of your older spices, but my guess is most of the preground spices/herbs that are over a year old are probably not very good. Some of them since the time you bought them.[p]Just some idears. Gotta get packing!
Cheers
Chris[p]

fishlessman

WDAN,
i know with basil, if you let it sit it just smells like tea after a while. i freeze the fresh stuff in bags now, it turns black in the freezer but still tastes good

Dimple's Mom

WDAN,[p]In addition to what's already been mentioned, I have actually had mold on some spices but I suspect there was something wrong from the getgo with those. It's only happened twice.[p]Also, some spices that have oils in them can go rancid, which you can usually tell just by smelling.[p]Gwen

Unknown

WDAN,[p]Instead of throwing them out, I take all my old spices and throw 'em together in a big jar. Then I throw some on the fire when I want to give the smoke a little extra kick.[p]