Found out my chili was bland because I was dumping the spice in at the wrong time for like 3 years
I always threw the cumin and chili powder in right when the onions hit the pan, thinking it needed to "bloom" early. Turns out I was right about blooming but wrong about the moment, cause a coworker named Dave watched me cook at a potluck in Reno and told me to add the spices after the tomatoes and let it simmer 20 min. I tried it on a plain $2 can of beans and the difference was nuts, way more flavor from the same cheap stuff. So what am I supposed to do with the giant jar of cumin I bought at Costco, just use twice as much now?
Your coworker Dave did you a solid. I had the same thing happen with smoked paprika, dumped it in early for years and wondered why everything tasted like nothing. Started adding it near the end instead and suddenly the same bland pot of beans actually tasted like something.
That Costco cumin jar is fine, just keep using it, the grind holds up longer than people claim. Worst case, toast the whole seeds version if you ever want to level up, but for now just fix the timing and you're good.