How to Properly Store Spices

Edaku — Fri, 15 May 2026 09:00:00 +0300

Spices rarely spoil in the way most food does — they don’t grow mold or go rancid in the usual sense. But they steadily lose flavor and aroma, and it happens faster than most people expect, especially if the spice jars are sitting somewhere they shouldn’t be.

The three enemies of flavor: light, heat, and moisture

Three things strip flavor from spices faster than anything else: direct light, heat, and moisture. Light breaks down the essential oils responsible for aroma, heat speeds up their evaporation, and moisture causes clumping and texture loss, especially in ground spices. That’s exactly why the shelf above the stove — a spot that seems convenient — is actually one of the worst places to keep spices, since it catches both heat and steam from whatever’s cooking.

Storing Spices on Edaku

How to Properly Store Spices

The three enemies of flavor: light, heat, and moisture