Yes, I would say it is garbage if over 4 years old. We love garam masala with potatoes and spinach.

I doubt it will repel mosquitos.

If you have some in your pantry, sprinkle a bit on a cooked potato and see if it has flavor. I store spice mixtures in the freezer if I do not use them often enough.

If you make your own, you will need a lot of ingredients, including cardamom seed pods. I keep those on hand anyway for other recipes.

If you buy more, you might want to adjust it to your taste. I find that a lot of them have too much cinnamon, and so I add cumin and coriander (and sometimes other spices) to dilute that.

I do not make my own garam masala to store, but I do use its ingredients separately when making Indian dishes. I use it in lentils more than any other dish.

Thanks, 41 North and Lars.

I bet I have some multi year old cardamon pods somewhere!

I do have a food vacuum saver. Next time I buy a spice that will not be used much, I will try to vac pack and freeze it. The Vac packer that we bought is pretty good. I can use sections of larger bags, cut them down, fuse the raw/cut sides then vac pack a small batch of something.

Just use more when you make curry. Historical recipes that call for enormous amounts of spices do so because by the time they got it it was ancient. We dont even have that kind of ancient spices. It should be fine to use though. Just use more and taste as you go.

It's a key ingredient in my barbecue dry rub. You don't need much, but it really makes pulled pork and ribs explode in your mouth. It literally supercharges the pork flavor.

Original Boca Boys - use this on pork, chicken, and lamb

• 6 tablespoons Granulated Garlic Powder
• 2 tablespoons Chili Powder
• 2 tablespoons Paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon Garam Masala
• 1 tablespoon Cayenne Pepper
• 2 tablespoons Turbinado Sugar

I've never heard of it. I keep spices a long time.

It's one of the commonest spice mixes available. I buy ready made and use several times the amount stated in recipes, as I do for all spices except chilli. There never seems to be much flavour in most published recipes.

Spices lose aroma and flavour so keeping them a long time isn't recommended

I like to keep whole spices around (they last longer too) . and I enjoy toasting them in my mini cast iron pan and then smashing them in mortar and pestle as needed. It smells soooo good and really doesn't take long.

My favorites are: Star anise, cloves, cumin, coriander, ceylon cinnamon stick, fennel, black, red, and white pepper...

I need to use cardamom more, I have it on hand but am somewhat baffled how to break it down.

So, if you're making fine Indian recipes, you'll want to use whole spices, toast them in the right order and grind them yourself a la minute, and keep them in a masala dabba (stainless container with cups for each of your spices) to wield like a painter's palette as you cook, according to my favorite Indian cook. If you're just using it in a recipe for an American meal (however Indian inspired), getting a prepared mix seems a wise savings in time and trouble.

I love to make my own spice blends, but I happen to have a jar of garam masala. My suggestion would be to buy it if it's readily available; otherwise make it.

@lat62 - Smash the cardamom, pick out the seeds and throw them in a coffee grinder. At least that’s what I do. Labor intensive but actually tastes like something.

Appreciate that, foodonastump, will try that technique

I am thinking about making a Milk Street recipe for curried butternut squash soup. It wants 2 T (Tablespoons) of garam masala.

Yesterday, while I was chopping chives for the Vichysoisse, I noticed there was a newish, opened glass jar of garam masala. The jar had about a teaspoon taken from it, was tightly seared with the jar lid and I had left the foil cover largely intact. I smelled fragrant enough and I can always add a bit more. I did not think to check if there was a use by date.

So, I guess i’m okay with the bottle/jar that may be 3,5,or 8 years old.

The thing with an old mix is one part can be fragrant while another part is as tasty as wood. Dampen a half tsp. of the mix with a light oil or ghee just to the paste texture and smell and taste it.

BUT check the ingredients! On the description on their website, it says, ”Essential to northern Indian foods, garam masala means “hot spice blend.” Traditionally, it includes cinnamon, cumin, cloves, cardamom and black pepper, but other spices such as mace, fennel or caraway can be added to suit the needs of a particular dish.” But check what's actually in it!

Spice Islands:

Salt, Spices, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Dehydrated Garlic, Dehydrated Onion, Red Pepper.

WT...?

Commonly sold in USA brands:

Banyan Botanicals:

Ingredients (gluten free):
Coriander+, Red Chili+, Cumin+, Clove+, Ginger+, Fennel+, Black Pepper+, Cinnamon+, Fenugreek+, Nutmeg+, Cardamom+, Mace+.

+Certified Organic

Spicewalla:

Nutmeg, Clove, Cinnamon, Black Peppercorn, Cumin Seed, and Green Cardamom

Wikipedia says:

The composition of garam masala differs regionally, with many recipes across the Indian subcontinent according to regional and personal taste,[1] and none is considered more authentic than another. The components of the mix are roasted, then ground together or added to the dish for flavour just before finishing cooking.

A typical Indian version of garam masala[2] contains (with Hindi/Urdunames in parenthesis):

• Fennel (saunf)
• Indian bay leaves or malabathrum (tej patta)
• Black and white peppercorns (kali/safed mirch)
• Cloves (laung)
• Cinnamon or cassia bark (dālacini)
• Mace (outer covering of nutmeg) (javitri)
• Black and green cardamom pods (ilaici)
• Cumin (jīra)
• Coriander seeds (dhania)
• Red chili powder (lāl mirch)

Some recipes[3] call for the spices to be blended with herbs, while others call for the spices to be ground with water, vinegar, or other liquids to make a paste. Some recipes include nuts, onions or garlic, or small quantities of star anise, asafoetida, chili, stone flower (known as dagadphool, lichen), and kababchini (cubeb). The flavours may be blended to achieve a balanced effect, or a single flavour may be emphasized. A masala may be toasted before use to release its flavours and aromas.[1] In the east of the Indian subcontinent, in West Bengal, Orissa, Assam and Bangladesh only cardamom, cinnamon and clove may be substituted for the assortment.[citation needed]

The Burmese masala (မဆလာ) spice blend used in Burmese curries typically consists of ground cinnamon or cassia, cardamon, cloves, and black pepper.[4]

Thanks for all that effort, plllog.

You bring up an excellent point — some very volatile and fragrant spice might be flat dead old, while another apice componest might be intense after 3-4 years. My jar is a bit cagey on the ingredients list, wording is: ”spices, including corriander, black pepper, cumin, cardamom and cinnamon.

So they leave out any mention of salt. And the inredients ”may” be included, and no order can be ascertained. I detect no salt, but the black pepper is forward. I can smell cinnamon a bit and corriander. Too much black (cheap) pepper. I don’t want that much pepper presence and I’ve only put a tiny amount on my finger then tongue. I think I will toss it* and not replace it with a pepper heavy brand.

* I might use the old stuff with a wax or paste under my car’s hood. The car is parket outside and deer mice or white-footed mice get under the bonnet, into the isulation then glovebox and cabin. Yuck. We have mouse traps nd keep spraying peppermint. But I think DH keep forgetting. He needs to help me make room in the garage for the car/s.

Interesting! I checked a bottle image online and it had the same weird ingredients as it said on the website. I'm glad the bottle you have is old enough to at least resemble garam masala! A new bottle sounds like a good idea.

The mouse repellent sounds like a great idea. Not to be negative, but the critters ate the hoses in my father's car in a fairly well sealed garage (we suspect field mice which can get in under the human door).