Essential Spices for a Beginner Kitchen: The First 12 Jars

No on both counts. Salt is a mineral, not a plant part, and it is used in such volume that it belongs in an open box or cellar by the stove rather than a 4 oz jar on the shelf. Treat kosher salt as jar zero and buy it first.

About six months for flavour, according to Wikipedia's spice entry, against roughly two years for a whole dry spice. Nothing goes unsafe after that; the volatile oils simply evaporate, so an 18-month-old jar of paprika tastes of little more than colour.

Usually not. Sets of 20 to 24 jars are padded with spices a new cook opens twice a year, and every ground jar in the set starts its six-month clock the same day. Twelve single jars bought over three trips cost about the same and get used.

Sweet paprika is the safer first jar because it goes into more dishes without dominating; smoked paprika tastes of smoke in everything. If you already own one, keep it and add the other on trip four, since both are ground and last about six months.

Yes, and it is the cheapest upgrade on the list. Wikipedia's black pepper entry notes that once ground, pepper's aromatics can evaporate quickly, which is why pre-ground pepper tastes flat. A basic 4 to 6 in hand grinder costs less than two jars of ground pepper.

Better not. Heat rising from the burners and the oven warms that cupboard every time you cook, and heat drives off the volatile oils that carry flavour. A wall shelf one step to the side of the range, or a cupboard away from the cooktop, keeps them cooler.

No. Each order is one shelf in one width and colour, with two screw hooks and two adhesive pads in the box; the jars in the photographs are styling only. Standard 4 oz round jars sit about six across on the 11.4 in (29 cm) Small, eight on Medium and ten on Large.

Keep the load light if you do. The product page suggests the two screw hooks wherever the shelf carries a full row of glass jars or the wall is textured, and reserves the adhesive pads for smooth, clean, dry paint or tile with a lighter, evenly spread load.

Start with 2 teaspoons (10 mL) of whole seed, toasted for 60 to 90 seconds and crushed, or 1.5 teaspoons of ground, bloomed in the oil with the onions. Taste after 20 minutes of simmering and add up to another teaspoon if the chili tastes flat rather than salty.

Whole nutmeg with a fine grater, smoked paprika if you started with sweet, cardamom pods, fennel seed and a good dried thyme. Each opens two or three new dishes; nutmeg goes first because grated fresh it changes a white sauce in a single 1/4 teaspoon.

Black peppercorns, whole cumin seed, chili flakes and garlic powder, added to the paprika you already own. Those five carry roast chicken, tacos, a pasta sauce and a tray of roast vegetables, which is a full week of dinners for about the price of 4 jars.

Dried oregano, ground cinnamon, whole coriander seed and ground turmeric. Oregano unlocks tomato sauces and pizza, cinnamon covers oatmeal and chili, and coriander plus turmeric with your cumin is the base of most 30-minute curries.

Bay leaves, ground ginger and a curry powder, plus a pepper grinder if you skipped it on trip one. Bay goes into every stock and braise, ginger into stir-fry sauces and marinades, and curry powder gives you a 20-minute chickpea curry with no blending.

No. Half the jars in a 20 to 24 piece set are spices a new cook opens twice a year, and every ground jar starts its six-month flavour clock on the same day. A dozen single jars bought over three weeks cost about the same and get used.

Roughly the price of 12 supermarket jars plus a hand pepper grinder, spread over three trips of about four jars each. Buying the whole seeds (cumin, coriander, peppercorns) in 2 oz packets from a bulk bin cuts the bill further and lasts about two years.

Yes, and it suits a beginner well: buy 1 to 2 oz of a ground spice at a time so it is used inside its six-month flavour window, and up to 4 oz of whole seeds, which keep for roughly two years. Decant into a clean, dry jar with a tight lid at home.

Chili flakes. They are milder per teaspoon (5 mL), easier to dose at the table, and they double as a pizza and pasta finish. Cayenne is 3 to 5 times hotter by the spoon and easy to overdo in a pot; add it on trip four if you like heat.

Mild. A mild curry powder is mostly coriander, cumin, turmeric and fenugreek, which lets you control heat separately with 1/4 teaspoon of chili flakes. A hot blend locks the chili in, so one 2 teaspoon dose can make a pot for four too fierce.

Garlic powder only, for a first shelf of 12 jars. It goes into rubs, burgers and roast vegetables where fresh garlic would burn. Onion powder overlaps with the fresh onion that starts nearly every dish, so it is a trip-four jar at most.

Whole seed. Coriander seed toasts in a dry pan in 60 to 90 seconds and crushes easily under a pan base or the flat of a knife, and whole it keeps for about two years against roughly six months ground.

Whole nutmeg loses flavour within days of grinding, so pre-ground jars are already tired, and a new cook uses it in maybe two dishes. Buy one whole nutmeg and a fine grater on trip four; a single nut lasts a year of grating 1/4 teaspoon at a time.

Yes: use about 3/4 teaspoon of ground for every 1 teaspoon (5 mL) of whole seed the recipe calls for, and add it to the oil for 30 to 60 seconds rather than toasting it dry, since ground cumin burns in under a minute in a dry pan.

Equal parts cumin and a pinch of caraway or fennel gets close in a curry base, or use 1 teaspoon (5 mL) of curry powder in place of 1 teaspoon each of coriander and cumin. Neither is exact, so add half and taste after 10 minutes.

In tomato sauce and on pizza, yes, at the same 1 teaspoon (5 mL) dose; most blends are half oregano with basil, thyme and marjoram. It will not stand in for oregano on a Greek salad or in a chili, where you want oregano's sharper edge alone.

Not in a dry rub or on anything that roasts above about 400 F (204 C), because minced fresh garlic burns and turns bitter. Use garlic powder for rubs, and 1 clove of fresh garlic for every 1/4 teaspoon of powder in anything wet like a sauce or marinade.

No. Dried leaf herbs are about three times stronger than fresh by volume, so 1 teaspoon (5 mL) dried replaces 1 tablespoon (15 mL) chopped fresh. Ground spices have no fresh equivalent except ginger, where 1/4 teaspoon ground stands in for about 1 tablespoon grated.

60 to 90 seconds over medium heat, shaking the pan, until the seeds darken a shade and smell nutty. Tip them out onto a plate straight away; leaving them in the hot pan another 20 seconds takes cumin from toasted to bitter.

After the onions have softened, into the hot fat, 30 to 60 seconds before any liquid goes in. That brief fry in oil is what releases the oil-soluble aroma compounds; spices stirred into a finished watery sauce stay dusty and raw-tasting.

Yes, fast. Ground paprika, turmeric and curry powder scorch in 60 to 90 seconds in oil that is smoking, and burnt paprika turns a whole pot bitter. Keep the heat at medium, stir constantly, and add liquid the moment the spice smells toasted.

At least 20 minutes in liquid. Dried leaf herbs have to rehydrate before they release much flavour, so both go in with the tomatoes or stock, not at the end. Remove the bay leaf before serving; one leaf is enough for a 2 quart (1.9 L) pot.

Half the recipe amount, then taste after 10 minutes of simmering. For a pot serving four that means about 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) of a strong ground spice such as cinnamon, cloves or turmeric, and the full teaspoon only once you know you like it.

Sometimes. Dilute with more of the base (an extra 14 oz can of tomatoes or 1 cup of stock), add a starch such as potato or rice to absorb, and finish with acid or dairy: 1 teaspoon (5 mL) of lemon juice or 2 tablespoons of yogurt softens heat and bitterness.

Yes for dried spices stored dry; the date is about flavour, not safety. A ground spice loses most of its aroma after roughly six months open, so it tastes of dust rather than making you ill. Discard any jar that shows clumping, damp or mould.

Only if moisture gets in. Shaking a jar over a steaming pot lets water vapour inside, and a wet spoon does the same; both can cake the powder and, over weeks, grow mould. Spoon spices into a dry hand or bowl, and keep lids on tight.

Humidity. Ground spices are hygroscopic, and steam from a pot 12 in (30 cm) below an open jar is enough to cake them within a few weeks. Break the lump up, dry the jar, and move it away from the range and the kettle.

No for everyday jars: condensation forms on a cold jar each time it is opened in a warm kitchen, and that moisture is worse than warmth. A sealed, unopened bag of whole spice keeps fine in a freezer for a year or more if it stays sealed until fully thawed.

Rub a pinch between your fingers and smell it. A live spice smells strongly of itself within 2 seconds; a tired one smells of very little. If you have to bring it 1 in (2.5 cm) from your nose to notice anything, replace it.

Yes, slowly. Light speeds the oxidation of the volatile oils that carry flavour, and it fades paprika and chili flakes from red to brown within a few months on a sunny sill. A wall shelf out of direct sun, or opaque lids, avoids it.

Not if it is beside the range rather than above it. Heat rises straight up from the burners, so a shelf on the wall 12 to 24 in (30 to 60 cm) to the side of the cooktop stays close to room temperature while remaining one step from the pan.

Standing up, lids tight, in a single row where the labels face out. Jars laid flat in a drawer hide their labels and let powder pack against the lid seal, so you end up buying a third jar of cumin. One row on a shelf is the whole point.

A wall shelf at eye level for a kitchen with few drawers, a drawer insert for a kitchen with no spare wall. The shelf wins for a beginner because it is only about 4 in (10 cm) deep and keeps the labels visible without opening anything.

Write the spice name and the month opened on the lid top with a paint marker, in letters at least 1/2 in (12 mm) tall, and face the front of each jar out on the shelf. Masking tape works but lifts within about 6 months from steam.

No. Keep supermarket jars until all 12 spices have proved they get used, roughly one month in. Decant after that into 4 oz glass jars with a tight lid, and write the month opened on the base so the six-month clock is not lost in the transfer.

Round glass jars of about 4 oz (120 mL), roughly 1.75 to 2 in (4.5 to 5 cm) across and 4 in (10 cm) tall, which is the size most supermarket spices come in. Tall 6 oz and 8 oz jars, and flat tins, need a shelf with a little more headroom.

Around six on the 11.4 in (29 cm) Small, eight on the 13.8 in (35 cm) Medium and ten on the 17.5 in (44.5 cm) Large, in a single row. Tall or wide jars reduce that count, so measure your jars before choosing the width.

Not on one. The widest 17.5 in (44.5 cm) shelf holds around ten standard 4 oz jars in its single row, so twelve means either two jars elsewhere or a second shelf hung above the first with about 8 in (20 cm) of clearance for tall bottles.

3.9 in (10 cm) on the Small width and 4.1 in (10.5 cm) on Medium and Large. That is shallow enough to sit on the wall between a cupboard and a splashback without reaching into the working space above a worktop.

A powder-coated steel wire frame in black or white, with a base panel of solid natural wood showing visible grain. It arrives as one finished piece with two screw-in hooks and two adhesive pads in the box, and there is nothing to assemble.

Use the two adhesive pads that ship in the box, on smooth, clean, dry paint or tile. Keep the load light and spread it evenly; the product page steers a full row of glass jars, or a textured wall, toward the two screw-in hooks instead.

The listing calls it a light-duty shelf. On the two screw hooks it comfortably carries a row of full 4 oz glass spice jars; on the adhesive pads keep the load light and spread evenly. Do not hang anything from the front rail or lean on it.

Yes, and it is a common way to use them. Leave about 8 in (20 cm) of vertical clearance so tall bottles still fit underneath the upper shelf. A 13.8 in (35 cm) Medium over an 11.4 in (29 cm) Small gives around fourteen jar spaces on one wall.

Wipe the steel frame with a damp cloth and dry it. Wipe the wood base with a barely damp cloth only, then dry it immediately. No soaking, no dishwasher and no abrasive cleaner on the powder coating; a wipe every 2 to 4 weeks keeps kitchen film off it.

Yes. The same shelf is listed for bathroom bottles, entryway keys and post, and a home office, and the powder-coated steel resists everyday humidity. Keep it out of direct shower spray and wipe splashes off rather than leaving them for days.

Yes, in black or white, in all three widths of 11.4 in (29 cm), 13.8 in (35 cm) and 17.5 in (44.5 cm). Each order is one shelf in one colour and width, so a two-tier run is two separate orders.

Solid natural wood with visible grain, held in a powder-coated steel wire frame. It is not an all-wood shelf, and the wood should only ever be wiped with a barely damp cloth and dried straight away rather than soaked.

Yes, on the Large width. The 17.5 in (44.5 cm) shelf is described as taking a full run of everyday seasonings, oils and a grinder, at a depth of 4.1 in (10.5 cm). Count a 17 oz oil bottle as roughly two jar spaces.

For cumin and coriander seed, the flat of a chef knife or the base of a heavy pan crushes them coarsely in 30 seconds, which is fine for chili and curries. Peppercorns need a grinder; a 4 to 6 in (10 to 15 cm) hand mill is enough.

Yes, a cheap blade grinder dedicated to spices does 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of toasted seed in 10 to 15 seconds. Do not share it with coffee; cumin flavour survives washing. Grind 1 tablespoon of rice afterwards to clean the chamber.

Sweet paprika is mild dried red pepper with almost no heat; hot paprika includes hotter varieties and bites like a mild chili; smoked paprika is dried over oak smoke and tastes of it. All three are ground and last about six months once open.

Spoon them out. Tip the spice into a dry measuring spoon or your palm held 12 in (30 cm) from the pan, then add it, and close the lid at once. Steam entering an open jar over a boiling pot is the main reason ground spices cake within weeks.