shelf life of pepper: forever and two days?

Because I love oatmeal, I decided I'd like to try something new today: savory oatmeal. After looking around the ever-helpful internet, I  settled on simple hard cheese, salt and pepper. Now, the recipe I found insisted upon having the freshest and best ingredients in order for the full effect. That got me thinking, and I realized the black pepper I have has been sitting in its little owl-shaped shaker for six, yes SIX, years. (Clearly I do not use a whole lot of pepper...) Then add to that the fact that this pepper was left behind by a previous roommate! 

After coming to this somewhat embarrassing conclusion, I returned to the internet to see what others though about the shelf life of pepper. Some say one year, some say one year is too long, and yet one other brought up the fact that the entire beginnings of the spice trade were such that people awaited spices that had been on a trade route for around two to three years.

Either way, my pepper still tastes like pepper to me. I've got other spices and herbs I'm sure are past their prime as well although they still seem to do their job just fine, so I'll keep them. They do say, if you decide your spices are not up to par, rather than throwing them out, you can sprinkle it into your grill to use up any lasting flavor. Good to know.

And by the way, savory oatmeal is worth a try!

http://www.tastespotting.com/features/basic-vinaigrette-recipe-salad-oats

 Interesting, huh?