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Managing herbs/spices in the kitchen when you buy in bulk?

615 views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  Thystle 
#1 ·
I buy some of my most used herbs and spices in bulk at the local health food store. WAY cheaper than buying little bottles in store.

However, I am wondering how you all handle these bulk purchases. I have some "normal spice sized jars" that I fill and store the excess herbs/ spices in the freezer.

However, it's a real drag to be constantly refilling those little jars. But I don't really have anything else to put them in at this time. Sure some of the stuff I don't use as fast like mustard and ginger, but my garlic and onion powder, the dill and thyme get "re-filled" almost every 10 days or so.

I live in a rental house and it's an awful layout, last updated about 1940, so far from ideal. I basically have a simple shelf over the sink that houses the spice jars.

So for those of you that buy in bulk, how is it that you are managing the re-fill process and storage?

I mean all in all, it's not that hard to re-fill every 2 weeks, but at the same time it seems like there should be a better solution. Do you have "larger" spice jars? Any idea where I could find something like this?

Any other ideas or solutions that work for you?
 
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#2 ·
I bought uniform glass spice jars, I think they hold 1/4 cup of spices and then store them in a drawer, with the leftover spices in bags in the pantry (although they should really be in the freezer like yours...good idea!). This works pretty well, but I was thinking of getting some larger jars for the more often used spices. In your case, how about some mason jars? A 1/2 pint size would hold 1 cup of spices...that should last a while and still look nice sitting on your shelf. I would do the same thing but mine are stored in a drawer and larger jars won't fit.
 
#4 ·
I get these little 4oz jars from the Container Store that are just the right height for my kitchen drawers. Label goes on the top of the jar, then into the drawer label-side up. The drawers are on either side of the stove, so it's very convenient while cooking.

Extra spices, I leave those in the bulk bags. All the bags are in a basket in the pantry. I refill the jars on Friday afternoons while cleaning the kitchen. We go to the spice merchant about once a month for a restock.
 
#7 ·
Ok, I guess I'm doing the best I can now then.

I would love to be able to put into larger jars, but A.) don't have the space to do so (kitchen lay out from the 40's) and B.) I really like the "shaker" tops on my jars, so wouldn't want to have to measure or get a spoon out of larger jar to access the spices.

Thanks for chiming in, I guess for the time being I'll just have to accept I'm doing the best I can with what I have to work with.

thanks all
 
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