That shelf has dried opium. I had no idea you could cook with it.

Fennel and Caraway are 2 staples in my spice cupboard. They definitely get used frequently.
I also keep dried basil for spaghetti sauces simply because whenever I buy fresh basil, I never seem to use it all up before it goes bad.
I always grow it in the summer, but winter time spaghetti gets dried.

Ha! I didn't even notice that until you said! Hmm...now I'm curious...

jars of spices like that would be so beautiful displayed in a kitchen, but I think I heard that light is bad for spices?

Is that true, and if so, darn it!

I love these little jars! Anyone have any good sources for (CHEAP!) glass spice jars?

I use fennel and caraway, freshly ground, when making German-style rye bread.

All of the above, plus dry mustard, parsley flakes, basil, sage, tarragon, turmeric, crystallized ginger, and the blends Old Bay Seasoning and ras el hanout. The only one I don't have in my pantry is the anise (star or ground), I don't like the flavor of it by itself although it is in several of my blends.

I often can't find good fresh herbs during the winter months, so I use dried. When I can find good fresh, I'll use them (pretty much 9 months of the year). But for winter soups and stews, it usually ends up being dried herbs.

I have Jerk seasoning, Blackened Seasoning, Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning ('Lite' and 'More Spice'), and Chinese 5 Spice.

I'm never without smoked paprika. It adds a mysterious smokey note to everything. It's especially helpful when you have a mixed vegan/carnivore crowd to feed and you can't just reach for the bacon!

Perhaps the "Opium" bottle contains dried seed pods from poppies? That would make them home harvested poppy seeds.

Dried Basil and Rosemary, definitely. After last night's Top Chef, I 'm thinking of investing in Vadouvan. Also, Herbs de Provence, Chinese 5 Spice and Ancho Chili Powder. I keep fresh Cuban Oregano and Sage in little pots in the kitchen.

Also, I've found that World Market and farmer's markets tend to be great for affordable spices.

I think the Opium jar has tea in it. Isn't "The" the French word for tea?

Basil, marjoram, sage, parsley, turmeric

HelloChloe, I think I've seen inexpensive bottles for spices at Ikea.

Saffron is crazy expensive, but I use it relatively often, so I always have it on hand. Szechuan pepper and fennel seed, mustard seeds, white pepper, whole cinnamon sticks and whole cloves, smoked paprika, ancho chile powder, and much more!

I like to have flavored salts: lavender, smoked, merlot...

I just reorganized my spices! Check it out here:

http://brickandplastic.blogspot.com/2008/12/spicy-makover.html

penzey's catalogs has spice storage guidelines.

basically:

buy fresh ground spices every year, fresh whole spices ever 2-3 years.

keep spices out of light; and keeping them in the fridge makes them last longer-- (but then; out of sight; out of mind)

so I keep most of my spices in the fridge (bulk bags), with small amounts in bottles in my spice cabinet (especially since I can use 1/2 cup of cinnamin in 6 months!)

penzeys also sells blank, empty jars as well as spices in bags.

I cannot recommend penzey's more highly.

J.K. Adams in Vermont has wonderful spice jars... you can buy them 16 for $21 or 48 for $51. I bought a set and round labels for the tops. I store them vertically in a shallow drawer next to the stove. I can see what I want at a glance... since they're round I can really pack them together... they stay in the dark... and they don't get hot from the stove since I have extra insulation there.

... and yes... they're alphabetical.

https://www.thekitchenstoreonline.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16580&cat=0&page=2

Szechuan peppercorns... I LOVE Ma Po Tofu.

Dill weed! How can you not have dill weed in your kitchen? I use it for scrambled eggs and egg salad on at least a weekly basis. Also I put it in tuna salad, cucumber salad with vinaigrette - just about any salad, really. Outside of my adobo blend, dill is probably my most used seasoning.

Ahhh, this is not only a good time to go through your spices but to ask for spices for holiday gifts. My husband, bless him, always stocks me up on my favorite salts and peppercorns.

I get to Penzey's once every 3 or 4 months with a list of 8 or so replacement spices, generally walk out with $60 of awesomeness!

I also can't recommend them enough, even their mail order service is top notch for those who can't get to their stores. An FYI for anyone who buys their plastic tubs (in Ohio they keep these in the back and sell the glass ones out front) well last month I was told they are doing away with the plastic in favor of all glass, at about half the price if you want the plastic you might want to stock up. Though I do enjoy the glass bottles as well.

I like to keep most of the above, plus granulated garlic, garlic powder, various peppercorns, celery seeds, and more in small tubs in a drawer. Baking spices in my "baking ingredient" cabinet and I buy 4 or 8 oz. bags of whole or ground spices from Penzey's to keep in my chest freezer. In the long run it's cheaper to buy per bag (and whole then self-grinding) than to keep buying bottles, and I get longer storage by freezing, then refill my tubs as needed.

Can I ask what is that Jasmin white cubes? Floral flavored sugar subes??=)

Oops typo! Meant to say- sugar CUBES.

I second Patel Bros in Jackson Heights for spices...good turnover and cheap!

Since I buy a lot of my spices in bulk, I store them in mason jars or other glass containers (jelly, peanut butter, etc)...

the above plus coriander seeds, poppy seeds, mustard seeds, garlic powder, dried parsley and basil, turmeric, black peppercorns, dried tamarind, chutney powder, adobo seasoning, old bay..

That -is- opium tea up there.

What you see are dried poppy (papaver somniferum) pods (with seeds in them). To make the tea, you grind the pods into a fine powder, place the powder in a coffee filter, put it in your coffee maker and it brews a light-brown coloured tea. Sugar and lemon is usually added as it can be quite bitter.

It's mainly used as a natural remedy to chronic pain, as it naturally contains morphine and codeine. It's still used in a lot of countries - places like Morocco (which would explain the French and Arabic labels).

Also, yes, those look like jasmine sugar cubes- you can make jasmine sugar:

Heat 1 cup of water to 180°F; pour over 2 teaspoons jasmine flower tea and allow to steep for eight minutes. Strain the mixture to remove the petals. Add enough granulated sugar to make the mixture mostly dry; mix evenly. Leave overnight in order to dry out.

Once dry you can use a mortar and pestle to grind the sugar back into its original texture.