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For your project, we would like you to design a solution to help the elderly manage, store, and easily use common spices at home. We will explain the aspects you need to consider below.

(Photo credit: Zhao Haotong) Haotong’s grandmother is preparing meals for the Spring Festival.

The Process of Using Common Spices

In daily Chinese cooking, common condiments include soy sauce, light soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, monosodium glutamate (MSG), salt, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise, among others. For instance, there is a holiday called “Little New Year” before the Spring Festival, during which every household prepares a sumptuous dinner. The Lu Jiale family is no exception; every Little New Year, Lu Jiale’s grandfather makes a dish called “Yu Po Yu” (oil splashed fish).

“Fish with Splashed Oil” (Image source: Baidu)

At 3 PM, Lu Jiale’s grandparents went to the supermarket to buy a grass carp and the required spices. By 5:30 PM, they returned home and began to prepare.

When Grandpa got home, he first removed the scales from the fish. Then, he cut the grass carp into small pieces, washed them with beer and water, and then marinated the fish pieces with cooking wine and salt for about 15 minutes. After marinating, he mixed the fish with starch and egg whites, and set it aside.

While the fish is marinating, Lü Jiale’s grandfather needs to prepare the other ingredients. He slices the green onion into strips and large sections, chops the garlic into minced pieces, cuts the chili into small pieces, and slices the ginger. Once these steps are completed, he places the grass carp, ginger slices, and green onion sections into a pot with clean water to boil for about 10 minutes until the fish is cooked.

During this 10-minute period, Lü Jiale’s grandfather prepares the sauce. He puts the chopped chili, minced garlic, green onion strips, and Sichuan pepper into a pot with peanut oil to fry, then immediately adds oyster sauce, chili sauce, light soy sauce, and vinegar; the entire process takes about 7 minutes. Finally, he removes the cooked fish and places it on a plate, then drizzles the prepared sauce over the fish, completing the dish. Every step of the process needs to be completed quickly; otherwise, the texture of the fish will be compromised.

Dishes like the one mentioned above require quick cooking, which can be very challenging for elderly individuals like Lü Jiale’s grandfather. He may mistakenly grab vinegar or soy sauce instead of light soy sauce, as these three condiments look very similar.

Common Spice Types and Specifications and Price List in Stores

In this table, we list the commonly used condiments in the kitchen. You can guess that among the four major categories of condiments, dried spices are used the most in cooking, while fermented condiments are used the least, and this is indeed the case. Typically, the elderly purchase these items at the supermarket. Upon returning home, they store them in plastic bags in the cupboard, but they do not have the habit of dividing them into smaller containers, which leads to moisture issues. Some elderly individuals prefer to use cleaned canning jars for storage, but due to the varying sizes of the jars, while moisture problems are somewhat improved, using them remains very inconvenient.

In the following Figure 1: (Photo credit: Yong Qihao)

1. Cooking wine
2. Black soy sauce
3. Light soy sauce
4. Monosodium glutamate
5. Salt
6. Peanut oil
7. Canola oil

图 1

In the following Figure 2: (Photo credit: Yong Qihao)

1. Fermented black beans
2. Bay leaves
3. Star anise
4. Dried chili
5. Sichuan pepper
6. Grass fruit
7. Bay leaves
8. Honey

Figure 3 (Photo credit: Yong Qihao)

Usage Cycle of Seasonings (Shelf Life and Usage Period)

Crystalline Powder Seasonings
For crystalline powder seasonings like salt, monosodium glutamate, and sugar, their shelf life in suitable dark and dry environments can range from 1.5 to 5 years. However, in daily life, due to their frequent use, a 350g container of salt or MSG may take around 125 days to finish.

Liquid Fermented Seasonings
Liquid fermented seasonings, such as vinegar and soy sauce, have a shelf life of only 3 to 6 months in appropriate refrigerated conditions. Nonetheless, they can typically be used for about 4 to 5 months under normal circumstances.

Unground dried seasonings
Bay leaves and Sichuan peppercorns, along with other dried seasonings, also need to be stored in a dark and dry environment. Since different dishes require different seasonings, they can usually be kept for a long time. For instance, if a household uses Sichuan peppercorns daily and stores them in a 450 ml jar with a capacity of about 500 grams, using 5 to 10 grams each day, the jar would last for about 3 months. However, as mentioned before, the duration may vary depending on the seasonings required for different dishes, so under normal circumstances, this jar of Sichuan peppercorns can be stored for 3 to 6 months. Unground dried seasonings can be kept for 6 to 12 months under cool and dry conditions. Compared to crystalline powder seasonings such as salt, monosodium glutamate, and sugar, they are more susceptible to moisture, which can lead to spoilage.

User persona

Age: 73 years old
Context: The family is very happy, with children around
Health: History of coronary artery disease, hearing loss, clear consciousness
Hobbies: Chatting with people, participating in folk activities, playing cards, watching TV, interacting with children, adding personal ideas while cooking, celebrating festivals (Spring Festival, because of family gatherings)
Fear: Fear of aging, especially the fear of “the afterlife” as physical functions decline.
Cooking habits: Frying, heavy oil and salt, not fond of meats other than pork and chicken. Every meal includes soup (rice porridge) and carbohydrates. The most popular dish is dumplings, and the seasonings used include soy sauce, Wei Dami (a type of seasoning), salt, pepper, vinegar, star anise, fennel, thirteen fragrances (a special Chinese spice mixture), cinnamon, bay leaves, and cardamom, but only a few specific dishes use such complex spices.
Spice storage method: Dried fruits are kept separately in a dry place, others are conveniently placed on the counter (soy sauce), and some parts are stored in the refrigerator.