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I went downstairs to the herb kitchen and got to work right away. Even with a headache, I was totally happy!! I went through all my dried herbs and pulled the old herbs that hadn't been used and which I knew were just too old to have any real vitamin and mineral benefit. Some of the old ones I felt would make nice tasting teas, those just for pure pleasure, so I saved them off to the side and the rest went to the compost. Herbs will last a really long time as can be attested by many a cook that reaches into her cabinet and gets out the 10-year old thyme and/or oregano and finds it still quite flavorful . . . but I'm sure you all understand that fresh or newly dried herbs will be undeniably ten to twenty times tastier and will also still maintain their vitamin and mineral content. So don't eat that 10-year old stuff!! Just rotate the old out every year or every couple years and use the older herbs in a dish that only needs a mild flavor and for which you are not expecting any health benefits. Admittedly, many of the herbs and spices you have in your cabinets are still tremendously tasty even after 3 or 4 years but if you intend on ingesting your herbs don't let them sit much longer than that.
Once you've tasted the flavors of fresh and/or good dried herbs you don't really want to eat the old stuff, trust me. If you are wanting a medicinal herb I suggest using herbs no older than 1 year or so. Even with all that being said, there are several herbs that will hold their intense flavor and oils even longer, so if you are interested in the medicinal side of herbing it would behoove you to do a little more research. Generally speaking, just don't go overboard. Buy, forage or grow just a little more than what you think you'll use each year and that will pretty much fix you right up, but it's like anything else, you'll learn from experience.