[Sca-cooks] paprika

[Edouard de Bruyerecourt]

General rule of thumb for ground spices is 1-2 years. The other general 
rule of thumb is if you can still smell it, it's still potent. Since the 
paprika has been stored in a cool place and out of light, and if the 
plastic wrap as been airtight,  it has a better chance. If the paprika 
still has an aroma, moving it to the fridge will help prolong what life 
it still has.

While where is is right now (and I know more details than the list does) 
may have exposed it to a little moisture during the last winter, it was 
also cold. On the other hand, where it was before that I know had 
moisture problems.

All in all, it may have just lost full potency (so the hot is closer to 
mild, and the mild makes for a nice garnish now).

Reality test: open the mild and smell it, or even take a small taste.

Laura C. Minnick wrote:

>So here's a question- how long does paprika keep? I have some paprika that
>a friend brought me _from Hungary_ (he'd gone to an academic conference in
>Budapest). I've had it know about 4 years. A little more thatn 3 of that it
>has been packed in a box and in storage. It is in plastic envelopes,
>wrapped in muslin. There was probably a cup of each- a mild and a hot. Is
>it dead? For that matter, are all of my spices dead? Will I have to replace
>them when pork is airborne and I actually have a place of my own (or better
>yet- shared with a cretain cook of my aquiantance)? I blanch to think of
>how much that will cost...
>

-- 
Edouard, Sire de Bruyerecourt
bruyere at mind.net
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