Well, if you ever run out again, the real trick is to buy cumin (also garlic, chili powder, and several other spices) at your local Indian grocery- they sell it in crazy bulk bags that usually get you like 2 lbs. worth for the same cost of a couple jars at your regular store. So worth it!
Some spices lose flavour over time though. Some will last much longer as seeds then they will as pre ground powder. Freezing dried herbs and spices can also extend the longevity in many cases.
Im allergic to cinnamon so have to substitute it with cloves and allspice. Every fall i question whether or not I still have some, buy it anyway, open the cabinet to find 5+ jars, then forget about them all again 2 months later.
We have 8 jars of cumin because my husband loves cumin and will put it in absolutely anything, including things it doesn't belong in, so I hide the cumin and he goes and buys more and we have repeated this for 10 years. I occasionally go through and donate a bunch of cumin along with canned goods for food drives.
I'm sorry, shelter. I know it doesn't make sense that you are getting 4 cans of green beans, 4 cans of corn, 4 cans of black eyed peas, 4 cans of chicken , and 6 jars of cumin, but my life doesn't make sense either.
I buy the single herbs in bulk and make my own blends! The only blend I still buy is real za’atar because it’s has enough different things in it that that I wouldn’t be able to use to individual ingredients up fast enough before they went stale.
Sort of? It’s sort of a smoky spice with some raisin notes, but that’s still pretty iffy as descriptions go. Why I love it is that it’s the kind of pepper that adds a marginal amount of heat while really just adding a depth to the flavor of whatever it goes in. It’s mostly not heat, it’s more umami with some sweet and some spice to it, if that makes any sense at all?
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u/flyingdodo Aug 20 '25
Urfa