Herbs & Spices : OLD ONES

[Forage420]

I'm having a kitchen clear out and there are bottles and bottles of herbs and spices from a bygone era, some of them years and years old!

Before throwing them away, I'm curious to know what you lot think ? Would you still eat them? .. Let me know your thoughts ..

p.s. some of them are so old they don't even have use by dates !!

[veggiechicken]

I've had a collection like that, tried some but, reluctantly, chucked them all. The spices were stale and lacked that freshness and oomph that fresh ones have. Most pf the herbs were tasteless.
I emptied the lot into the compost bin and kept the jars to re-use.

[Guest]

My old ones used to get put on the chickens grub but now I don't seem to buy that many. I wouldn't bother to keep using them.

[Small pumpkin]

Spices never go off (as long as kept in correct conditions) they just lose their intensity. So you can still use them. You just have to use more of it to get the same impact.
I saw it on one of those nerdy science programs.

[Scarlet]

I would taste...if they are really old they don't have any flavour at all.

[mothhawk]

I have some cardomom pods that are at least 25 years old and they are still bursting with flavour I suspect because they are seeds, and still whole, not ground or crushed. Any leaf herb will have lost its potency by now so I would ditch the mixed herbs and marjoram - they are much better fresh picked from the garden anyway. The celery salt will probably be a bit musty too. i'd chuck everything except the cardomom.

[Bren In Pots]

Spices never go off (as long as kept in correct conditions) they just lose their intensity. So you can still use them. You just have to use more of it to get the same impact.
I saw it on one of those nerdy science programs.

I've read that about spices but I'm sure that herbs lose their flavour give them a smell and see.

[veggiechicken]

Ground spices definitely go stale. Many years ago I brought back lots of ground spices from Sri Lanka and kept them for best.
When I decided to use them they were awful, really "flat".
Pods keep better though - cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg seem to last for ever.

[Bren In Pots]

Nutmegs even fine when you've had to rinse it after dropping it into an egg custard, I did well not to drop the grater in as well.

[SarrissUK]

I think dried herbs last a loooong time, and like VC says, anything whole seem to stand the test of time, but ground spices... I just use a little more until it tastes right