Meals During Power Cut: How to Add Flavour to Tinned and Store Cupboard Food

In short: To make tinned and store cupboard food taste better when there is no power, add flavour that does not need heat. Spice Drops are liquid spice extracts you can stir straight into cold chickpeas, tuna, rice pouches or soup. They keep for up to three years in a cool, dry place, so a few small bottles sit well in a home emergency kit.

Storms, floods and power cuts can leave homes without electricity or gas for hours or sometimes days. Most people have tins and dry food to fall back on, but cold beans straight from the tin get dull very quickly. This guide shows how to make store cupboard food taste of something when you cannot cook.

Why does store cupboard food taste flat without heat?

Tinned and dried foods are usually seasoned lightly, because they are meant to be cooked into something else. Without heat there is no frying, simmering or roasting to build flavour, so a meal can end up tasting of the tin.

Why do ground spices not help much without heat?

Ground spices usually taste best when they are warmed, often in a little oil, which brings their flavour out. Stirred into food at the end, they can taste raw and dusty, and they tend to sit on the surface rather than mixing in. Spice Drops are liquid extracts made from spices in Kerala, India, so they can go into cooked or raw food. Stir them in at the end and the flavour is there straight away, whether the food is hot, warm or cold.

Spice Drops contain no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives and are oxalate free. They are vegan, gluten free and alcohol free, and contain a plant derived emulsifier, polysorbate 80, which helps them mix into food and drink.

What can you make from the store cupboard without cooking?

• Tinned chickpeas or beans: drain, then stir in Cumin Seed and Lemon Zest with a little oil for a quick salad.
• Tinned tuna or salmon: mix Lemon Zest or Tikka Masala Spices into mayonnaise for sandwiches or crackers.
• Ready to eat rice or grain pouches: stir in Garam Masala Spices straight from the pouch.
• Tinned soup eaten cold: a drop or two of Red Chilli or Ginger makes a big difference.
• Oats or cereal: Cinnamon or Vanilla stirred into milk.
• Drinks: when you can boil water again, Chai Spices or Golden Turmeric Spices make a comforting hot drink.

How much should I use?

These ratios come from our product pages. Start with them, taste, then add more if you like.

Should you add Spice Drops to a home emergency kit?

Spice Drops are small and keep for up to three years when stored in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight, so they sit happily in an emergency box alongside tins, water and a torch. A 5ml bottle holds around 150 drops. Check the best before dates when you check the rest of your kit, and use and replace bottles as they get close to their date.

Spice Drops add flavour only. For food safety and what to keep in an emergency kit, follow official advice for your area.

Browse the range in our Spice Drops collection. For more no cook ideas, see our guides to no cook camping food and galley cooking on a boat.

How are Spice Drops made?

Spice Drops are made at our own factory in Kerala, India, by a family business that dates back to 1946. The spices are crushed in a hammer mill or under a roller without heat, then extracted, and the solvent is removed under vacuum. For some flavours the distilled oil of the same spice is added back. Leafy herbs such as Mint are distilled essential oil only. The result is real spice flavour: the natural compounds that give each spice its taste and aroma are still there, such as piperine, which gives black pepper its heat.