Spring Cleaning Essentials: When and How to Replace Your Spices

As you approach your spring cleaning this year, don’t overlook your spice collection—it’s key to keeping your cooking vibrant and flavorful. 

• You’ll want to check your spices for their smell, color, and flavor and replace any that have a weak smell, faded colors, and less vibrant flavor. 
• Replace your old spices with new ones from Yaji Spice, like our individual spices or spice blends. 
• Mama Put is the spice of the month and can be used on casseroles, stews, and roasts as well as savory baked goods. 

Add to your collection of spices this spring and shop for Mama Put. 

Enjoy our Simple and Tasty Recipe Blog.

As you approach your spring cleaning this year, don’t overlook your spice collection—it’s key to keeping your cooking vibrant and flavorful. In this blog post, we’ll cover when and how to replace your spices this spring season.  

When to Replace Your Spices 

You’ll want to check your spices regularly for freshness, and spring is the perfect time. You’ll want to check for: 

1.  Smell. Do your spices have a strong aroma? If so, it’s a good sign that they are still fresh. If the smell is very faint or nonexistent when you rub a bit of spice between your fingers, this indicates that your spices are no longer as flavorful as they should be. It’s a good rule of thumb to toss spices that are strongly lacking in smell. 
2. Color. Are your spices vibrant and colorful? The fresher the spice is, the more colorful it will be. Over time, spices lose their color if they are exposed to air, light, heat, and moisture. Spices should be replaced if they lack in color. 
3. Flavor. Is the spice flavorful when you put a pinch of it on your tongue? Spices that are flavorful are often more fresh. If the taste is off, or if the spice doesn’t taste as flavorful as it should, it’s likely time to restock your cupboard with new spices.  

Whenever your spices are lacking in smell, color, or flavor, it’s likely a clue that they are not as fresh as they could be. It could be a good idea to toss them and replace them with new, fresher spices. 

How to Replace Your Spices 

So you’ve gone through your pantry or cupboards and tossed all of the spices that are no longer fresh. What next? 

You’ll want to replace your spices with new ones from Yaji Spice. Try our individual spices, like: 

• Iru, or fermented locust beans 
• African nutmeg 
• Djangsang 
• Country onions 
• Egusi melon seeds 

Or, if you’re looking for an easy and convenient way to upgrade your cooking, try our spice blends, like Ataré spice blend, Mama Put spice blend, and Suya spice blend. Each spice blend has its own unique characteristics. 

Mama Put is the spice of the month. Mama Put can be used on casseroles, stews, and roasts as well as savory baked goods. It’s perfect for home cooks seeking to infuse dishes with a unique blend of warmth, sweetness, smokiness, and heat. You’ll be able to change the level of heat in each dish by adjusting the amount of Mama Put you use. Mama Put contains the following ingredients: 

• Grains of paradise 
• Orima 
• Country onions 
• Garlic 
• Black pepper 
• Grains of selim 
• Long chili 

Each spice offers a unique flavor profile that contributes to the overall taste.  

Shop for Mama Put 

Add to your collection of spices this spring and shop for Mama Put. This pre-made spice blend will make cooking easy and convenient. Tips for using Mama Put? Change the level of heat by adjusting the amount of Mama Put you use and remember to test recipes on small batches before expanding to large batches.