How do you store spices in your RV?
How do you store and organize spices in an RV? And what do you do to prevent those spices from losing their flavor in a mobile environment? We have an easy an inexpensive hack for keeping spices fresh in your RV.
Portable spice containers
There are a lot of solutions for storing spices but we like the Tupperware spice shakers. They’re available as either large or small sizes and we like them for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that Tupperware is tough.
We’ve enjoyed working with Lori Hensley for years on our Tupperware orders.
It can absolutely take the rough conditions of RV life. We can also bring them inside and out and they’re relatively light.
By making them this convenient, we use them when we’re at home and then take them on the road.
This way we use the same spices all the time so they don’t necessarily go bad.
Our spice containers are all labeled - some ridiculously so
Labels make the difference
One of the things we learned when we owned the bed and breakfast and had a commercial kitchen is that labels make all the difference. We label our spices using a label maker (because we’re nerds) so that we know clearly what is in each container.
We put a label on the front and the sides of the containers so that, no matter how they’re situated, we know what’s inside.
Spices lose their flavor
Did you know that spices lose their flavor over time? If your chorizo isn’t as spicy or your chili is dull, perhaps it’s because the spice has aged out. In fact there’s an article on the Food Network about the life of spices.
Great spices make a difference
One of the things we learned when owning the commercial kitchen is that the quality and freshness of your spices makes a huge difference in the results.
In fact, did you know that I have actually has won several chili cook offs? It’s all about the ingredients.
We share my peanut butter and jelly chili recipe here
With that in mind, we’ve been buying spices from a company called Savory Spice Shop for years now. When we had the B&B in California there was a Savory Spice Shop in Santa Rosa, about two hours from the B&B.
When we moved to New Mexico we figured we’d be buying the spices on line, which they do. But then we realized they have a location in Santa Fe so that’s one of the reasons we go there.
We like that they sell spices in various size packages. The packages remain sealed until you open them so the spices are always fresh and flavorful.
A few of our own favorites include the Chorizo spice which lets us make our own chorizo sausage using ground turkey. It’s not as fatty as pork, although it’s also possible to make chorizo using pork or beef or any combination thereof.
Having a great way to conveniently store spices that you can bring with you when you’re in your RV is a great way to add some flavor to camping.
Organizing your spices
One more thing. You’ll notice that we have a little metal rack that we keep these containers in. I don’t have any recollection of where we bought this thing which I know is not helpful at all. Tupperware does sell this rotating model, which we have, and it’s a good choice.
