Can Good Rubs Go Bad?

[bep35]

I came across some rub that had been on the shelf for about 10 years. That seemed too long. How long do you store your rubs before throwing them away?

[Jerod Broussard]

Hard to say. I had to dry out a rub in the oven the other day that was stored in a not-so airtight container for almost a year.

[Finster]

I dont know that it will go "bad" per se, but it probably won't have any flavor..

[Oak Smoke]

Between herbs just losing their flavor and any oils that might have oxidized in the spices I would bet it’s going to be disappointing. In all honesty I wouldn’t even taste it. There’s no telling what could be wrong especially if it sat in an anaerobic jar.

[tstalafuse]

Only once they start pulling knives and guns on you... After 10yrs, they mostly won't have any umphf left in them and they probably got left unused for 10yrs for a reason that you now don't recall. Better to just toss them and buy something newer.

[Santamarina]

Spices lose their flavor after time - each has a different shelf life. They don’t necessarily get “bad,” they just lose flavor. My experience says six months is reasonable without discernable flavor loss. After that it’s up to your palate.

If you are ok with the flavor…use it!

[Richard Chrz]

I doubt it is even close to what it was intended as. Seriously, if you’re having to revive rubs, they are not what the maker of them had wanted from your investment, not even close.

[Purc]

When in doubt, chunk it out. Agreed the rubs have lost their original flavor and so why waste the meat and the efforts of the cook with out dated, old spices (not to be confused with Old Spice!)

[mrteddyprincess]

I watched the Tuffy Stone videos on BBQ Stars this week, and he does a segment on the difference of doing dry rubs in BBQ with freshly ground spices. He encourages grinding one's own spices.

I was skeptical, but I ordered a grinder, ground fresh spices, and created a Memphis rub that was out of this world incredible! It was like no other commercial product out there. The rub I made was alive, and the rubs I have in my closet taste dead compared to it. Look into the fresh grinding thing. I think you'll love it.

Brian

[briano52]

In order to understand more about spice and herb aging, I adopted a policy of dating my herbs and spice with a sharpie when new. Very predictable results. They are not like fine wines that get better over time. The drop off in flavor starts early for most. Like in the first 60 days. Many stay quite flavorful out 6 months. Very noticeable drop-off in aroma and flavor at the 12 month mark. I don't throw them away at 12 months but I do increase the amount used relative to when they were new. Sometimes by 2-3 times. Very little flavor or aroma survives past 18 months.

[acorgihouse]

This is brilliant, and I say that knowing I missed this tip all along (so far.) I keep a Sharpie or two in a kitchen drawer, another in each bathroom drawer, and label everything I open with the open date. I also write on the lid of things in drawers, so I can see what is in there. Never thought to date the spices though. From now on....

[randy.56]

12 months for me, they lose there punch. Not saying there bad in a year. Just loss of flavors.

[Clark]

Send it to Spinnaker for his 30 yr. old roast he found in the freezer.

[fzxdoc]

I just culled all my spices and rubs a month ago. Some were pretty long in the tooth. I still use "old" rubs or rubs with old ingredients, upwards of a year or two. Who knows how old the spices actually were when I bought them. So I just go pretty much on taste.

Since my Great Spice/Rub Cleanup, I'm resisting buying more, but I did replace some standards. I've stopped buying spices in those huge containers from Sam's Club.

Now I order small batches from World Spice, and what they don't have I buy from The Spice House, also in small amounts. I paid for the "free" shipping (oxymoron, I know) by joining the World Spice Plus club so now I can order a bag at a time as needed without paying $10 shipping for $8 worth spices. I'm hoping to at least make my club investment back using this method. The nice thing about World Spice is that they will send many of their spices and spice mixtures un-ground, so you can grind when needed.

World Spice has an Emerald City Hot Dog recipe using their Emerald City Spice mixture (included as a freebee sample in an order) that I'm eager to try.

Kathryn

[Bkhuna]

I did that a few months back. I figure if I have a two year old bottle of rub that is half full, I must not have liked it enough to finish. I'm trying to limit the absolute number of bottles I have and not buy anything new until I've either used up or discarded one.