KitchenArt Select-A-Spice

I love cooking. One of the most important things to have on hand when preparing food is the right spice. I have tons and tons of spices but it made my cupboards look really crowded. I rearranged everything once, to make it look better but then I couldn't reach half of the things I wanted without asking for help or using a step-stool. One time, I made a meal without a certain spice because of the hassle - the meal suffered and I decided the do something about it!

I began looking for something that would let me keep all of my spices but take up less space. I don't really like spice racks. They usually don't hold enough bottles and they don't really reduce the amount of space required for storage. When I saw KitchenArt's Select-A-Size spice carousel, I knew I had solved my problem.

I have mostly good things to say about this thing. It premeasures the spices for you in 1/4 tsp increments. It looks like a lot when it comes out but I tested it and it is surprisingly accurate! It also can be stackable. I now have two carousels and they attach to each other and it all fits nicely in the cupboard next to my stove. It comes with pre-printed labels but there are also some blank labels for the more unique spices.

The drawbacks are that they can get a little messy. Sometimes spice pools underneath each little storage unit and needs to be cleaned up regularly. Another problem is that the flaps that you open to let the spice out feel a bit flimsy. A final criticism is that it is designed only for finely ground spices. Cajun seasoning, for example may not work well with the premeasuring feature but there's no reason why it can't be used to store the spice. By the way, each section has a little "shaker" at the top (you have to open a flap to get to it, though). Unless regular shakers designed with small holes, this has large slits and salt, for example just pours out of it at an alarming rate. Thus, if you are going to use it as a salt shaker, exercise caution!

I would recommend this product. I have enjoyed it in spite of the small shortcomings. It has made cooking easier and has streamlined my cupboard.