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As soon as you grind a spice, it gets exposed to air and starts to lose its potency. I'm trying to figure out how I can grind them and reduce/prevent this from happening.

I guess you could put them in an airtight jar, but wouldn't the air in the jar cause oxidation?

Would putting the powder in capsules help, like medical tablets?

Are there plastic bags or any bags where you can suck the air out?

I can't do a fresh one daily, but need potency after time. What methods are there to preserve powder from getting oxidized?

Just to note the spices in question are black pepper, long pepper and dried ginger. I guess the former two can be finely ground daily however I couldn't additionally dehydrate and grind ginger daily.

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  • Oxygen absorber packets: duckduckgo.com/?q=oxygen+absorbers&t=ffsb&ia=web You can also flush jars with carbon dioxide or nitrogen. A good seal is harder to get than you might think.
    – Wayfaring Stranger
    Commented Apr 18, 2021 at 0:30
  • Usually when I've seem videos of vacuum sealing devices, they're being used to seal larger items, like a steak or chunks of vegetables. I wonder if they would work on a fine powder like ground spices, or if the suction of the vacuum will suck out the spices as well as the air.
    – csk
    Commented Apr 18, 2021 at 4:23
  • I am closing this as a duplicate of another question about the best container for storing spices. Of course the common solution is imperfect - if a better one existed, that would be the common one.
    – rumtscho ♦
    Commented Apr 18, 2021 at 9:09
  • @csk yes, this exists, you just have to put the powder in a hard-walled container and do the vacuuming in a chamber. There are youtube videos demonstrating the technique, if you are interested.
    – rumtscho ♦
    Commented Apr 18, 2021 at 9:10
  • @rumtscho Okay, that makes sense. I was picturing the type that seals stuff in bags, like for sous vide cooking.
    – csk
    Commented Apr 18, 2021 at 16:09

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If you have a chamber vacuum sealer, you could vacuum seal your spices and extend the shelf life. Oxidation is the problem here. Ground spices are just limited by surface area exposure. Whole spices, ground as needed, will always be superior. Your best solutions are to purchase (or grind) small amounts, and use them relatively quickly...or, use a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle to grind whole spices as needed.

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  • I have just added a bit more details - the spices in question. When you say ‘relatively quickly’ what sort of time would the spices in question last. I’m mostly concerned about the dried ginger as I don’t want to do that often.
    – James Wilson
    Commented Apr 18, 2021 at 1:07
  • Ginger should last longer, especially if you are dehydrating and drying your own. Most spice companies will tell you that their ground products are good for one to two years, but all you have to do is grind spices from whole to know that there is a significant difference...even after weeks, if not days.
    – moscafj
    Commented Apr 18, 2021 at 1:53

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