SPICE STORAGE
Some of the most commonly asked questions I encounter at spice classes concern my masala dabbas—my spice tins—and spice storage in general. This video answers most of them. In the interest of not making every video more than 10 minutes long, I’ve edited a little.
For full tips and any questions I might not have answered you can red the copy below. Feel free to send through any of your direct questions via email if you’re dying to know and I haven’t answered.
Look here for more information on spice categories.
SPICE STORAGE:
Masala dabbas are designed to make commonly used spices more accessible when working in the kitchen. Traditionally most homes would have one. I have many because I use them as teaching tools in my classes, and they enable me to cart my spices around to weekly private events safely. Also, it’s a beautiful way to cook.
Yes, there will be some aromatic crossover with the spices in the tins. No, it doesn’t matter. Neither do you need to collate the spices in specific aromatic groupings. Masala is designed to be blended, so a little crossover won’t hurt the end result of your meal.
The tins are bought empty. They each come with seven katoris in which the spices are kept, and that cute little spoon.
Use the spices down in the tin, and then refresh them. The masala dabbas will help you to keep your spices fresh, which is incredibly important. Old spices are like working with old produce: it is much more difficult to create vibrant flavour.
The tins come with either clear or solid lids. Clear lids will make it a little easier to identify spices if you have more than one dabba. Closed lids enable less light contact with your spices.