Do Not Store Your Spices Right Above the Stove

It looks convenient — reach up, grab the paprika, no walking across the kitchen. But heat, light, and steam are the fastest ways to destroy a spice's flavor, and the shelf above the stove delivers all three every time you cook. Within months, spices there turn to flavorless dust that only adds color.

Keep spices in a cool, dark cabinet away from the stove and the window — a drawer or a cupboard door works well. It costs three extra steps per use. In exchange, your paprika still tastes like paprika a year from now, and every dish carries real flavor instead of a faint memory of it.