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Does light REALLY hurt spices?
TekDragon
__BANNED USERS regular
__BANNED USERS regular
Everywhere on the net websites repeat the old mantra 'store in a cool, dry, dark location' for tips on getting the most out of your spices. Research into dampness and heat and their effect on spices reveals plenty of solid results. Dampness can make your spices moldy and heat can break down parts of your spices responsible for the aroma and taste.
The one thing that I can't find, however, is how light effects spices. Now sunlight is pretty obviously a bad thing, because it heats up whatever it hits. But what on earth could be wrong with one, or a pair of, medium wattage light bulbs 8-15 feet away? Nothing that I could think of, and nothing I could search for. Yet, for some reason, every site I find insists you store them behind a door.
My GF (Indian) and I (Italian) use a LOT of spices. We have 30-40 jars ranging in size from 2-16 ounces depending on how often we use the spice. These jars are solid glass with really heavy and tight-fitting glass lids with rubber seals. The jars are, however, transparent.
We really don't have anywhere to put these jars besides stacked against the counter wall (well away from any heat sources like the stove). However, I'm worried that, despite the complete absence of any supporting research, perhaps light (no heat, just light) does somehow hurt spices.
Thoughts?
The one thing that I can't find, however, is how light effects spices. Now sunlight is pretty obviously a bad thing, because it heats up whatever it hits. But what on earth could be wrong with one, or a pair of, medium wattage light bulbs 8-15 feet away? Nothing that I could think of, and nothing I could search for. Yet, for some reason, every site I find insists you store them behind a door.
My GF (Indian) and I (Italian) use a LOT of spices. We have 30-40 jars ranging in size from 2-16 ounces depending on how often we use the spice. These jars are solid glass with really heavy and tight-fitting glass lids with rubber seals. The jars are, however, transparent.
We really don't have anywhere to put these jars besides stacked against the counter wall (well away from any heat sources like the stove). However, I'm worried that, despite the complete absence of any supporting research, perhaps light (no heat, just light) does somehow hurt spices.
Thoughts?
TekDragon on
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http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/112610302/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11913693
So apparently light from typical fluorescent light can degrade the flavors in meat and dairy products, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that some spices would be vulnerable too.
I can't say in my entire life if I've really had a visibly, noticeable difference from food or products stored in front of light for substantial periods of time.
Other than wet/warm/light places usually tend to grown some funky things when compared to dry/cool/dark places.
Same thing with whole spices that are fresh vs. whole spices that are 6 months old.
Same thing with recently bought ground spices vs. ground spices that have sat around for 6 months.
It also varies by spice. Whole dried bay leaves lose their pungency much slower then whole cardamom pods for example.
What I'm walking away from this discussion is this: storing your spices outside of a kitchen cupboard is ok, so long as they are in a sealed container (to prevent moisture) and away from windows (heat) and the stove/oven (heat).
Opaque containers may be a good option, but the benefit vs cost ratio doesn't necessarily make it worth it. Consider getting opaque containers (tins) for expensive and sensitive spices like saffron.
Buy fresh spices. Keep part in the pantry, part on the counter in an opqaue jar, part on the counter on a clear jar, and store part in a clear jar in the sun.
See if you can taste the difference after a couple days.
Relatively fast is once every month of two before running out and buying more.
However if you are storing them for use just on holidays, Then its better to stick to the dark, dry, cool.
Cardamom seed is a good example. When you break open the pod, the seeds/pits should be almost black, if they are grey they have very little flavor and don't taste so good. This will happen inside of 6 months, often significantly sooner.
Coffee degrades quickly upon exposure to air and light, and those little bags of whole beans from Starbucks or wherever aren't really meant for storage after they've been opened since they aren't airtight (yet they're designed to let you close them anyway). Worse are those little bins of coffee beans near an in-store grinder. Those beans have been sitting there for who knows how long, exposed to both air and direct light. The oils in coffee do go rancid.
You can get amber or frosted glass jars at a pretty reasonable price if you avoid specialty places or pharmaceutical grade stuff.
edit: And lots of chemical reactions are sped up by just normal sunlight or the light given off by a 60w bulb. It has nothing to do with heating things up really, its just that when light strikes something it transfers energy, which at the right wavelength can be enough for a chemical reaction to move forward. This is why sunlight is worse, because its got such a wide spectrum compared to indoor lighting.
Crappy, skunky beers are sold in green and clear bottles. Good beer comes in brown or opaque bottles.
For spices you use frequently, they'll be fine on the counter away from the stove, dishwasher and windows. For stuff you rarely use, put it in a ziploc bag and toss it in the freezer. They'll last a lot longer that way.
A touch off-topic – this is a case where physicists have borrowed a common word for use in a completely different context.
As for the impact of light on reactions: heat is one component, but I'd guess that the more probable trigger is from the fact that, as travathian says, there are some ridiculous things a photon of the correct wavelength can do to an organic molecule (such as a spice!). Photochemistry* can be a little odd – I would suggest that it's best to store your spices in a cool, dark, dry environment, but that's good for most things. I would also avoid freezing them, but that's partially because I'm in a humid climate, so that would result in them being enveloped in ice crystals. Don't stress it too much, unless you're buying vast quantities of the stuff. That said, don't use grocery stores and the like as benchmarks – things shouldn't be sitting on the shelves there for any significant length of time.
*yes, this is a real thing. Yes, this is in fact how we get ozone in the stratosphere. Yes, it is also how you see.