Australians’ love for their spice racks is clear in a new study conducted by MasterFoods, which revealed Australians spend an average of 13 days of their lives organising their spice racks. The trend has also been gaining momentum on social media, showcasing customisations from alphabetised shelves to Insta-worthy labels.
MasterFoods said the herbs-and-spice love-affair didn’t end there, with over a third of respondents claiming they would rather reorganise their spice rack instead of going to the dentist (37 per cent) or ironing clothes (36 per cent), with one in four (25 per cent) of noting they preferred the task over attending a baby shower or folding the laundry.
More than one in four (27 per cent) even admitted to preferring organising their pantry ahead of spending time with their partner – saying they would choose their spice rack over either attending their spouse’s work event (19 per cent) going on a date (11 per cent) or even being intimate with their partner (6 per cent).
Australians are also categorising their pantry personalities; the survey showed majority of Australians (and Boomers) embraced a basic ‘Straight Spice Shooter’ persona (64 per cent), whilst Gen Z’s we’re more likely to consider themselves ‘Aesthetic Angels’ striving for panty perfection (16 per cent), the remainder (20 per cent) considered themselves the ‘Rack Rebels’, preferring messy and muddled spice racks.
Psychologist Sabina Read, shared more about Australia’s top three pantry personalities and what they mean:
Spice Straight Shooter:
A basic spice rack setup that gets the job done.
Logic and practicality make sense to you. And for good reason. You tread the well-worn path of using either familiar spices or those specified in a recipe to cook your trademark dishes, which means you cook with surety and mitigate failure,” said Read.
Rack Rebel:
Messy and muddled, your spice rack may be chaotic but it makes cooking fun.
“Rack Rebels don’t want to feel controlled or constrained by anyone or anything. You maintain that a chaotic spice rack makes you feel free, and lets your creativity run wild,” said Read.
Aesthetic Angel:
Everything is alphabetised and aesthetically pleasing.
“It’s easy to believe that order and a picture-perfect spice collection mean others will see you as a guiding light who knows their boundaries and can cook with confidence,” said Read.
All-in-all, Australia’s spice rack obsession left most feeling ‘top of the shelf,’ with almost half of respondents (48 per cent) confessing they felt proud when their spice rack shelves were in order. However, for those peeping inside someone else’s pantry, a third of Australians (33 per cent) have gotten the ‘ick’.
MasterFoods is calling on Spice Straight Shooters, Rack Rebels and Aesthetic Angels to join the #ShowUsYourSpice social media challenge by revealing why you love your spice rack - or cupboard or drawer - for a chance to win a pantry full of MasterFoods products.
