Spices and pantry

How to store salt: plain salt keeps indefinitely when it stays dry, but the iodine and the anti-caking agent in the box both fade. Morton’s five-year date, why salt cakes, and the one state of salt worth binning.

Does imitation vanilla extract go bad? It is water, vanillin and a little preservative, so it fades and can even mold, unlike a pure extract held together by alcohol. How long a bottle keeps, and the five stages.

Does Crisco go bad? Yes, slowly: vegetable shortening keeps 1 to 2 years sealed and 6 to 12 months once opened, then turns rancid. Here is how to store it and how to tell when it has gone.

Almond butter is too dry for bacteria, so fat is the part that fails. Natural against stabilized, the pantry against the fridge, what the oil on top means, and the five stages from fresh to rancid.

A pure lemon extract is oil of lemon in 83 percent alcohol, so it fades and evaporates rather than spoiling. How long a bottle keeps, where it belongs, and the five stages from fresh to leaking.

Homemade roasted pumpkin seeds keep about 2 weeks in an airtight container, and up to 3 months frozen. Left warm or out too long, they go soft or rancid. Here is how to store roasted pumpkin seeds, and how to tell when they have turned.

Opened matcha keeps 6 to 12 months airtight in a dark cupboard, but it fades long before it spoils. The experts also disagree about the freezer. Here is how to store matcha powder so it stays green.

Roasted coffee beans stay at their best for 1 to 3 weeks in an airtight, opaque container, and 3 to 4 months frozen. The fridge is the one place to avoid. Here is how to store coffee beans, and when they have gone.

Strain it, cool it, and keep it in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 6 months, or freeze it for a year. The USDA gives bacon grease no time on the counter at all.

Honey does not really spoil, but it can ferment if water gets in. Crystals are fine and foam is not, and the three published shelf lives run from 1 year to forever.