the air, or to reaction-causing heat or light. To
preserve herbs and spices, their tissues must
be killed and dried out, so that they don’t rot,
but as gently as possible, so that water is
removed without removing all the flavor.
Then the dried material must be kept in closed
containers, in a dark, cool place. As a general
rule, herbs and spices keep best in opaque
glass containers in the freezer (the container
should be warmed to room temperature before
opening to prevent moisture in the air from
condensing onto cold flavorings). In practice,
most cooks keep their flavorings at room
temperature. As long as they aren’t regularly
exposed to strong light, whole spices keep
well for a year, and ground spices for a few
months. The fine particles of ground spices
have a large surface area and lose their aroma
molecules to the air more rapidly, while
whole spices retain the aromas within intact
cells.
Storing Fresh Herbs