I can't say I ever do anything like a systematic inventory of my spices and herbs, but it's also true that once in a while I heave things willy-nilly either because I really never them or because the jar looks kind of scuzzy. I do know that herbs/spices lose their oomph over time, which is one reason I buy the smallest containers I can find.

I went to the vinegar institute's site and they said basically the shelf life of vinegar is indefinite. It said there may be some cosmetic changes, but it shouldn't affect the useage.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vinegar

The Vinegar Institute? I guess that means there are vinegar lobbyists wandering the halls of Congress somewhere. I do know, however, that the fancy herb vinegars will go bad once they are opened.

Periodically, I go through the spice drawer & the rack in teh pantry & toss anything that seems really old. However, DH uses a lot of things so much that they don't stay on the shelf all that long & he's taken to buy whole nutmeg & whole cloves & grinds them up himself. They seem to stay full strength longer when we buy them like that, but that's only my own opinion.

You're right, Andie, that whole spices stay fresh longer (same as coffee beans vs. ground coffee). Spices are so expensive that I try to buy only those I really intend to use...and every fall just before Thanksgiving it seems there are specials right up thru Christmas...a good time to restock a bottle or two each week.

The Cooking Forum gurus recommend Penzey's for smaller packages. I've had a catalog lying about for months...but Christmas and then plant catalogs took precedence.

I love that you can now find almost any herb fresh...I mix chopped bits with butter and freeze if I can't use it up. Can't tell the difference if added to soups, veggies or even spread on meat/bread. josh

Love, love, love Penzeys. Smoked chipotle powder...oof!

Never heard of Penzey's before, went to their site, and they actually have juniper berries, which I like to grind up with other herbs in a mortar and press into some meats before I cook them. Now I guess I have to get yet another catalogue.

DH loves Penzy's, especially for hard to find Asian spices. The disadvantage of living in a town like ours is that exotic spices are hard to find without a 2-hour drive into the big city. Thank God for catalogs & the Internet.

Wow, now I'll visit that site. Learn something new every day. Yes, Andie the Vinegar institute. LObbyists prolly. Here's how that works for those of you who are not familiar with agriculture and lobbies.

Up until a few years ago, I had to keep track of all the perennial stock I produced, and under law I had to submit the dollar amount to the government. If it was over a certain amount, then I had to remit money based on my production. The money was used to advertise the product nationally to promote more sales. It wasn't optional........this was obligatory. Evidently that program did not achieve its goals and was dropped, but it rubbed me so wrong. I didn't give a flying rat about national advertisement of that product and resented being forced to support a program like that with my profits.

I buy my spices in bulk but only an oz. at a time and tend to use them up before a year is up.

Just ran out of cinnamon for my toast. We have quite a few of those metal spice cans, guess it is time to clean out. Some are so old they could be collectible? Nah, time to get new stuff.

Don, if not McCormack the tins might be okay...my curry mix still comes in cans, likewise paprika and whole black peppercorns.

Saw a great collage at local art show made up of flattened old tins including Shinola shoe polish and Colgate tooth powder...remember those? With a few old metal softdrink bottle caps included it really looked great and brought back memories. josh

Well, I'm mumbling about the shelf-life difference between acidic foods and vegetables. Remember when there was a big to-do about new-variety tomatoes not being as acidic as the older varieties? Everyone was being told to add lemon juice to make them more acidic, when home-canning, because the lower acidity *shortened* shelf life. Possibly the article is referring to acidic foods in metal cans rather than in glass jars... but you'd think they would mention the difference!

Okay, I looked it up. PSU's is the best written (and best designed website, too); but USDA is still recommending lemon juice to acidify, to prevent spoiling and to increase shelf-life of home-canned tomatoes.

Here is a link that might be useful: PSU home canning guidelines