We organize a lot of people's kitchens, so when I saw this magazine ad from McCormick it made me laugh really hard. How many times have we seen these little rectangular tins of spices in our clients' kitchens? They are at least 15 years old! Ewww.
This photo is from the McCormick website, where they have a lot of "secrets" about how to tell how old your spices are, if you are curious. www.mccormick.com/freshflavor
Basically, the freshness range is 1-3 years depending on whether it is ground or whole, etc.
1) Do tins 20 years and older have any value?
2) Can Whole Black Pepper dated 1986 be used effectively now? It has a strong pepper scent.
This is a grate site. Found the address in a magazine in beauty shop. So glad to have found it.
Have a cupboard full of McCormick products. Some very old.
Thank You for great products.
Posted by: Ruth Orend | January 24, 2007 at 10:52 AM
OH MY GOSH!!! My daughter and I are going through the spices - 1977, 1986 and earlier!!!! What have I been thinking?
Posted by: Brenda | May 27, 2007 at 04:28 PM
Greetings, and thanks for a timely and important article. Too often companies buy large lots of salvage spices, and then package them for sale as fresh. Look for vibrant color, and clear bottles. Also, for whole seeds like Rosemary and Cumin, make sure the seeds are intact, and there aren't any crumbs or dust in the bottom of the bottle. Fresh spices make a huge difference in taste, and are well worth any price difference. My son, a French-trained chef, and I sell premium spices, guaranteed to be current harvest at Petenpete.com.
Posted by: Pete Weikel | November 16, 2009 at 04:16 PM