My aunt gave me a bunch of spices over the Thanskgiving weekend that she had duplicates of. Had to be like 30 different containers. Most of them are in generic McCormicks, Spice Islands, etc jars. Some of them have never been opened. My question is, how long are spices good for?

There was also some datil pepper sauce and some Habenero vinegar in there along with a few other peppers in vinegar. Those don't have any kind of expiration date, right? And you can add vinegar back into them when they get low, right?

 

They should be good for a while. Some will probably lose flavor sooner than others, but for general kitchen use they should last a long time.

That is a pretty good gift, spices are one of the most difficult things to build up because of how expensive they are. Lucky.

 

I keep the spices in glass containers in a cabinet (bulk ones) and the everyday ones I keep in small glass shakers in a drawer. Keep them away from the stove, oven, dishwasher and sink; the heat reduces some of the flavor and to much moisture makes it clump up and become odd.

 

Actually the best way to store most spices is a cool, dark place and best that they not be glass contaniers. All spices are different afa dates go, it would be best to look up each spice.

 

Spices-whole or ground?
Use google and look up each one as mentioned. Base it on the production date, NOT when you got it.
Rule of thumb is max
ground spices <1 year
Whole ~ 2 years