My chat with a pro baker made me rethink my whole kitchen setup

I was at my aunt's house in Portland last weekend and she's a real baker, like makes bread for a living. She saw my kitchen and said "you keep your salt and baking powder right next to the stove? That heat kills them." Never thought about it before. She also said my vanilla extract has been sitting on that shelf over the oven for 2 years and is probably useless now. Has anyone else stored stuff wrong for years without knowing?

2 comments

2 Comments

casey_barnes1mo ago

Haha well guess my vanilla's just expensive air freshener now.

xena_miller311mo ago

Wait, so you're telling me my "artisanal" vanilla that's been living above my oven for three years is basically just brown water now? I mean, that explains why my cookies have been tasting more like "confused" than "vanilla" lately. I keep my salt right next to the stove too, and I always wondered why my scrambled eggs sometimes needed an extra pinch. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like I've been sabotaging my own cooking this whole time without even knowing it. Honestly though, if my baking powder has been dead for years, at least my pancakes have been serving as a nice reminder to double-check my ingredients before I start.