I do this when I go camping. The spices for each meal are in separate little containers, all appropriately measured. So much easier than carrying everything and trying to measure it by the light of a campfire.

One thing to be aware of is that spices' aroma molecules will degrade faster when powdered than when whole. No idea how significant this is, but might be good to know if you're planning on making several years worth of spice mix

I do this for chili. Rather than having to measure random portions of like 8 spices, I can just do a bulk mix one every 6 months and just measure out 5 tbsp of the mix and add 1tbsp salt when I make it.

I'm so glad this helps for you!

I really enjoy just eyeballing things and making it up as I go, but I know not everyone likes to cook that way. I can absolutely see how trying to measure out a bunch of various spices would be tedious as fuck 😅

I make about 2 quarts of chili powder each year in one big batch. I just had to replace my Greek seasoning mix because I used it all up. My wife just used the last of my Curry so I've got to make a new batch of that.

Figure out how much you're going to need and plan accordingly. This makes it a lot cheaper in the long run because not only are you saving time on the day of, but you're buying the right amount of ingredients in bulk instead of per occasion.

I'm glad you discovered this life hack!

WRITE DOWN YOUR PROPORTIONS/WEIGHTS!

I have my go-to mixes of spices in their own box in the spice cupboard. I don't buy good enough quality so I taste every little trace of the 40 differents spices in the premade one from the store. I migh just as well stick to homemade with never more that 5 spices.

I still like to add them individually and slightly change the proportions each time to see what happens. Also, garam masala does a lot of heavy lifting.

Did somebody tell you that you couldn't do so? 🤣

I did a batch of custom instant ramen seasoning once, to avoid the salty flavor packets. Ran out. Haven't had ramen more than a handful of times since

The only downside here is that some spices work MUCH better when fresh ground, so if you notice a difference in your premixes (not being a strongly flavored as you expect) then I'd try making smaller batches, which may or may not prove to actually be time saving.

I'm the weirdo who buys almost all of my spices whole, and grinds and toasts the ones that need to be fresh on demand.

my wife and I have a large garden this year.

we have dehydrated cabbage, squash, diakon, radish, beet, chive, green onion, basil, rosemary. we use them to add more flavor/nutrients to store bought ramen, homemade soups and other dishes like casseroles.

they're all "premade" and in jars in the cabinet. a large 32oz jar usually lasts us until next harvest season.

highly recommend doing this even with a small garden. the cost savings is immense and the pride you taste in your own efforts makes every dish special.

I have a shaker with a pretty even ratio of salt, pepper, msg, onion and garlic powder since I use all that MINIMUM for pretty much everything. Some things will have more, but there's practically nothing I would add salt and pepper to without wanting the other 3 in also.