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How to Keep Spices from Clumping

Humidity will play tricks with your spices, causing them to clump together in their jars or containers.

Storing your spices in airtight containers in a cool, dark place is the first step in preventing clumping. There are other steps that can be taken to prevent the clumping of spices into the bottoms of containers so that they will shake out freely whenever called upon.

Following are a few ideas to keep spices in the best state possible at all times.

How to Keep Spices from Clumping

Always store spices away from sources of heat, light and moisture.

A great way to keep your spices from clumping is to simply add some dried beans into the spice shaker, assuring that the spice will shake out onto foods when requested. The beans will absorb any extra moisture in the jar. The absence of moisture within the container will help prevent the clumping together of both powdered and flaked spices.

Keep your spice shakers like the ones turned upside down on the right side of the picture below, and not the ones on the left. The two spice containers on the right contain dried beans while the ones on the left have only the designated spice. The addition of a few dried beans into each container keep the spices from clumping.

Also, remember that steam causes excess moisture… so, shaking spices over a pot of soup or boiling liquid will force unwanted moisture into a spice container!

You may have been at a diner and wondered why there were pieces of rice inside the salt shakers. Dried rice serves the same purpose as dried beans, except that rice can sometimes fit through the shaker holes that are provided by many spice containers.

How to Keep Spices from Clumping

Additional Information

To check on the shelf life of all spices, see our spices page.

To find out how long other foods are good for, please visit the Dairy, Drinks, Fruits, Grains, Proteins, Vegetables and Other sections of Eat By Date or use the search function below.