Moisture is the enemy of dried foods. Dried foods exposed to the air absorb the moisture in the air and become limp.
Always store dried foods in airtight containers and label the contents. Store the containers in a dry, dark place with a moderate temperature. Your kitchen cupboard is an ideal spot. After all, dried foods take up so much less space than fresh or canned ones that it is easy to keep them in a handy place.
Remember to store any dried food containing vitamin A away from direct light.

Here is how I store certain items: I always keep some dried tomatoes in the refrigerator. When I want to make spaghetti sauce, I retrieve the tomatoes from the fridge, take my dried herbs from the cupboard, and collect my dried peppers and onions from the pantry.
Economies of scale make all of this possible, and if you have a small kitchen, you will appreciate the extra space gained simply by using dried foods.

When storing dried foods, contamination from insects may occur. The only insect I have ever found to be a problem is the Indian meal moth, in both the worm and adult stages. A University of Wisconsin food researcher told me that the food may have been contaminated with the insect eggs already sealed in the jar.
To destroy the insects, pasteurize the food right after it has been dried. There are two ways to do this:

• Place the food in the freezer for 48 hours, or
• preheat your oven to 175 degrees F., or the lowest possible setting, and heat the infested food on a cookie sheet in the oven for 15 to 30 minutes. Let cool before rewrapping.