log🧂 Seasoning Labels
Based on my understanding of the food service industry and certain of its practices that most closely parallel those of a home cook (an understanding largely acquired passively by watching television shows and reading forum posts) one of the most recommended methods of seasoning storage is to place each seasoning in its own transparent plastic deli container – lidded, labeled, and stacked. Elegant and simple. The rationale behind this container standard, which I have confirmed through firsthand experience, is as follows:
- ubiquitous
- cheap
- replaceable
- interchangeable
- stackable
- standardized
- flexible
- visible
- accessible
- virtually air-tight
I have used this method of spice storage for years now, and it is nearly perfect. Virtually every problem I ever had with manufacturer packaging and other inferior storage methods is solved by these containers. Narrow openings which do not permit scooping, non-standard, non-stacking, space-inefficient container designs, low-visibility contents, inconsistent fonts / labeling, and unreliable sealing mechanisms. I could go on. These issues can be resolved for just a few dollars and some time.
🚩 Problem
My problem at the moment is that I made the mistake of applying a paper label to each container. These paper labels are not visually durable. The labels have stuck without issue for two years, but the ink has worn off some of the more frequently used seasonings. I will replace the paper labels with more durable plastic labels.
📋 Supply List
I will need a few items to complete my project.
- DYMO® LetraTag® 200B Bluetooth® Label Maker
- white plastic label tape
- isopropyl alcohol
- cloth
- tweezers
This is a list of each label I will need to attach to a deli container. There ~60 so I will need to streamline the process.
| Ingredient |
|---|
| allspice |
| alpha-amylase |
| ascorbic acid |
| bagel |
| baking powder |
| baking soda |
| basil |
| black pepper |
| bread crumb |
| cajun |
| cardamom |
| cayenne |
| chicken bouillon |
| chili |
| chipotle |
| cinnamon |
| clove |
| cocoa |
| coriander |
| corn starch |
| cumin |
| curry |
| dark cocoa |
| dill |
| fennel seed |
| five spice |
| furikake |
| garam masala |
| garlic |
| garlic salt |
| ginger |
| iodized salt |
| korean chili |
| kosher salt |
| l-cysteine |
| marjoram |
| minced garlic |
| minced onion |
| mint |
| msg |
| mustard |
| nutmeg |
| old bay |
| onion |
| oregano |
| paprika |
| parsley |
| panko |
| red pepper |
| rosemary |
| sea salt |
| sesame seed |
| sichuan peppercorn |
| sodium citrate |
| SSL |
| tarragon |
| thyme |
| tomato bouillon |
| turbinado sugar |
| turmeric |
| vital wheat gluten |
| white pepper |
| xanthan gum |
| yeast |
| za’atar |
🔄 Process
As one might imagine, the the ~ $30.00 label printer and its clunky mobile app software includes only very basic features. No ability to import CSV or change margins, padding, etc., so I have to rely on some crude tricks to get what I want.
Basically:
- Compile the list of seasoning labels
- Format list into long string with 3 whitespace between each label
- Clean deli containers with cloth and isopropyl alcohol
- Cut labels to size while alcohol dries
- Remove label backing using tweezers to assist
- Adhere label to containers
✅ Done.
Rather than copying, pasting, and printing each individual label one at a time, which would take an eternity and waste a lot of tape with on account of the generous margins enforced by the printer, I add three whitespace characters between each seasoning label, and print one long string with as many characters as the printer will allow at once. This is another niggling limitation of the label printer: I can only print ~25 inches of tape at a time, so I will have to print the bulk labels in a few batches. Later, I will manually trim the mega-labels into individual labels with scissors (The label printer includes its own manual label slicer, so this is no less work).
This all worked well enough for my purposes, and I have no need of a more sophisticated label printer.