WFMW- Keeping dried herbs fresher, longer

Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer hosts a weekly blog carnival called Works for Me Wednesday. I've been lurking for a couple months, and have finally decided to jump in! So here is it, my first official WFMW post (drum roll please)...

Since it's holiday time again, and we all do lots of special meal preparation and baking- I thought I'd share my favorite tip for keeping my dried herbs and spices looking and tasting freshly purchased...

Most of us know that light and heat cause the flavors and colors to deteriorate. After throwing away dried herbs that had faded on my spice rack before I could use even 1/2 of the jar, I figured that there had to be a better way. That's when I found a better use for my spice rack (it displays my son's rock collection on the wall in his room!) and moved my jars of herbs and spices to the freezer.

Just make sure that the lid is tightly closed so that they don't clump when you put the spice or herb bottles in the freezer. Then pull them out, measure, and use as you normally would- no need to defrost first!

I've been doing this for several years (not the same set of herbs!) and it works for me. Make sure you check out more WFMW ideas here!