I hate spice racks (And so can you!)

by Brandon Lindstrom

You know the one I'm talking about. I guarantee you and 95 percent of people reading this received one of these as a wedding present. The other five percent of couples had it on their registry, but nobody bought it for them. I'm talking about something like this:

Don’t get me wrong…I love spices. Rather than reach for calories to make something taste good, why not reach for, you know, FLAVOR? The problem is, spice racks take something awesome and promptly ruin it and destroy your life through disorganization. Here’s why I hate spice racks:

1. Almost all spice racks contain clear jars. Yes, spices come in many different colors and look nice on the counter…but light is the absolute enemy of flavor and, eventually, color. Do an experiment: put some dyed diesel in a mason jar and leave it out in the sunlight for a few days and let me know how long before that turns into clear diesel. It doesn’t take long. That’s how clear jars ruin your food’s flavor.
2. I don’t like to be told what to do, and many spice racks come with labels already on the jars, and you only get to have the 12 things in your spice rack that they pre-determined you should have. A good spice selection should be customizable, and let you have the spices you know you’ll use.
3. A lot of spice racks contain spice blends. Why would I have an entire spot in a limited-space spice rack dedicated to garlic salt…when I already have garlic powder and salt? Try to limit purchasing spice blends and make your own blends out of the spices you already have. As a bonus, you get to tweak all the ingredients if you want, rather than being stuck with a pre-mixed Italian Seasoning someone else thought tasted good.
4. Some racks come with some very obscure spices you may never use. I, for one, have never cooked with Mace. Who has ever cooked with Lavender? So this goes into the back of the cupboard…decades from now you move into a nursing home, and your kids go through your house and find the fossilized remains of these spices.
5. Even some of the best spice racks, you have to hunt forever to find the spice you want. Not to mention how disorganized your cupboard (including mine) can get with your partial spice containers used to FILL your spice rack.
6. Almost all spice racks come with spices pre-ground, and if you really want to turn the flavor up in your cooking, leave spices whole as long as possible and grind them yourself right before you cook. I just use a coffee grinder.

Here was my solution to most of my gripes:

I bought a bunch of small tins online, and glued magnets to the back. I only labeled a tin and filled it once I purchased a spice and felt I would use it again. I built up my spice “rack” over the years. It solves several of the problems I mentioned earlier:

1. They keep light out.
2. It’s a completely custom rack.
3. Yes, I realize I have some blends, but those are blends I chose to have.
4. I eliminated spices I will never use.
5. It’s in alphabetical order, so everything is easy to find, and the tin size perfectly fits the small shakers most spices come in…cutting down on partials in your cupboard.
6. Any spices that come in whole form, the tins have the whole spice, not the ground.

That’s my summary of why I hate spice racks…but I really like mine.

Brandon is a former Young Farmer and Rancher Committee chair and the current Cass County Farm Bureau President.

---