The kitchen is often considered the heart of the home, where meals are prepared, conversations happen, and memories are made. Creating a practical, functional, and aesthetically pleasing kitchen can enhance your cooking experience and make your daily routines smoother. Here are some great practical ideas to improve your kitchen:

Tips for Storing Herbs and Spices at Home

Spices and herbs remain fresh for different periods, depending on whether they are stored fresh, dried or ground. In today’s article, you will find easy tips for storage, which will help you get the most out of your favourite spices as well as practical ideas for your kitchen.

Storage of Herbs and Spices: Things to Remember

Generally, all spices (derived from the root, flower, fruit, seeds or bark) and herbs (derived from the leaves of the plant) are best stored in a cool, dry, dark and airtight place. Refrigerators are only suitable for storage of certain spices and herbs. In the following lines, we will reveal more about it.

Once you buy fresh herbs, the best option to store them fresh for a longer period is by placing them in a sealed airtight container, labelled with the name of the spice and the date of placement. Why is this necessary? For starters, it is easy to forget what is in the container, not to mention that of when. Besides, spices stored in this way can stay fresh for a long time at room temperature.

Ground spices can be stored for up to three years before losing the sharpness of its aroma and flavour. Also, you can store up to five years spices beans as coriander, black pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon.

• Glass Jars

Transparent glass jars with good closing are perfect for storing spices in the dark and not too warm cupboards. The reasons are: jars do not absorb odours, are easy to clean and are sealed with a cap.

• Keep away from heat

Do not keep your spices near the stove because the fumes from the wonderful dishes you cook will seep into the containers and will moisturise them. For the same reason, do not use spices from glass jars directly over the hot saucepan, when tampering the food.

• Fridge and freezer lovers

As we have already mentioned, the storage of spices and herbs in the refrigerator is not necessarily the ideal option. The reason is: moisture almost always reaches them, making them stick together and go mouldy. This does not mean that some of them would prefer to keep them there. Ginger, for example, wrapped in a damp paper, lemon grass and hot peppers will feel great in the refrigerator.
In general, spices are not suitable for freezing because it gustatory qualities will quickly diminish. However, spices in the form of pesto for example, which contains olive oil, onion, and of course, flavourings can be frozen without any problem, because the oil will preserve the flavour and aroma.

• Overstock

Buy a small amount to avoid stockpiling. If you do decide to load the shelf in the kitchen with wonderful aromas, those who have particularly long shelf life include nutmeg, cardamom, coriander, cumin, cloves and allspice.

• Grow them fresh in a pot or in the garden

Although it would be better to keep the herbs dried or ground, the best thing you can do with them is to grow them as pot plants on the windowsill (basil, lavender, thyme are a great choice for that). Or to grow them in the garden in order to be able to enjoy them just when they are most fresh. Another great benefit is that they can be a fresh decoration of your home too.

• Salt

If the salt in the salt shaker is wet, add a few grains of rice. They absorb the moisture in the salt.

• Sugar

You should not store the sugar with other products that have a strong flavour because it absorbs and retains the aroma.

• Hot tea or coffee

If you scald your tongue with hot tea or coffee, hold in your mouth a little bit of baking soda for few minutes and the pain will pass quicker

• Cocoa

If you want to improve the taste of cocoa add few drops of lemon juice before serving.

Helpful Cooking Tips

• Eggs

In order not to burst the eggs when boiling, put a saucer upside down at the bottom of the saucepan. To avoid spilling the yolk when frying poached eggs, just add a little bit of salt in the hot oil and then pour the eggs.

• Boiled Rice

Do you want perfectly boiled rice? There is a trick for that too. Add a teaspoon of lemon juice per litre of water in the boiling water and you will have perfectly cooked rice.

• Fish

To defrost fish faster, put it in cold water. If a fish smells of mud, wash it with strong brine. To clear easily the flakes of the fish, just pour it in vinegar and let it stand for few minutes. Always clean and wash the fish under running cold water. After that, dry it with a paper towel and sprinkle with fresh lemon juice. Leave to stand for 15 minutes in the fridge and then is ready for cooking.  This way the fish becomes very juicy and tasty.

Final Thoughts

By incorporating these practical ideas, you can create a kitchen that is not only functional and efficient but also a joy to work in. Whether you’re planning a complete remodel or looking for small improvements, these tips will help you make the most of your kitchen space.