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hot-sauce Reaper Sling Blade Hot Sauce Question

My wife bought me some different Cajohns products over the summer, and just now opened the bottle of Reaper Sling Blade hot sauce. Based on the ingredients, is this something I should refrigerate, or will it be ok at room temp? Here are the ingredients on the label.
 
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I don't have a lot of experience with different hot sauces, aside from what you find in grocery stores. I have tried Cajohns Black Mamba and didn't like it. I also tried their Reaper salsa, which is awesome. I really like the flavor and texture of this sauce. I've been putting it on crackers, but just now tried a teaspoon of it straight. It has a nice clean burn, mostly on the roof of my mouth and tongue. It has a good balance between the salt/spices and vinegar/acidic flavors.
 
Just want to make I don't screw it up and let it go bad. Although I think I'll go through it fairly quickly.
 
I'd keep it out for sure. Always tastes better. I don't like cold sauce it has a muted flavor and cold sauce on hot food is not good.
 
If it doesn't say "refrigerate after opening" on the label, leave it out~
 
:rolleyes:  Here we go again...  :lol:
 
The Boss thinks that all sauces are safe to be left unrefrigerated.  Others disagree.  Manufacturers put "refrigerate after opening" on the label for a reason.  Some follow the advice, some don't.... it's up to you~
 
In this case SL I read the bottle and it's fine. That's why he posted the ingredients. If it said Apples first, and no vinegar, I'd say fridge.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
I'd keep it out for sure. Always tastes better. I don't like cold sauce it has a muted flavor and cold sauce on hot food is not good.
 
salsalady said:
:rolleyes:  Here we go again...  :lol:
 
The Boss thinks that all sauces are safe to be left unrefrigerated.  Others disagree.  Manufacturers put "refrigerate after opening" on the label for a reason.  Some follow the advice, some don't.... it's up to you~
 
SL, this puts me in mind of a post of yours a while back about amateur hot sauces. I agreed with everything you had to say (you know, for a change?). One of your points was that what people are paying for when they buy a "legit" hot sauce that has jumped through the hoops is peace of mind, but you also said that you personally are willing to take that chance when it comes to amateur sauces.
 
Applied here, I have to admit that I take personal chances when it comes to food safety that I would never take with anything I passed on to someone else, whether for profit or not.
 
For anyone wanting to hedge their bets, I'd suggest reading the section on foodborne illnesses in Modernist Cuisine, and doing some research here: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/home
 
Not that I'm telling you not to refrigerate. Officially, I'm telling you that you should invest in a biosafety cabinet and sanitize anything you plan on ingesting.
But the best advice by far I can offer regarding CaJohn's Reaper Sling Blade hot sauce is to try it on some biscuits with mustard. I also like it with mustard on french fried potaters mhmmm.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
In this case SL I read the bottle and it's fine. That's why he posted the ingredients. If it said Apples first, and no vinegar, I'd say fridge.
 
I couldn't see all of the label to see if there was a "refrigerate after opening " printed vertically somewhere.....I would NOT rely on the list of ingredients to assure if a sauce was safe out of refrigeration or not.  Just because the sauces are listed in order of predominance does not assure the sauce is safe to be left unrefrigerated. 
 
 
CaJohn's is one of the top sauce producers in the USA and in addition to making their own sauces, they do a LOT of co-packing for other brands.  They know their sheet from day ONE as they were pretty much DayOne for co-packing.  If they make a sauce and there is no "RefrigerateNotice" on the label...then have at it to take the sauce any where and everywhere with no refrigeration... ever.
 
If CaJohn sauce says refrigerate after opening....    :shrug:   use your own discretion~~~
 
Wicked Mike said:
 
 
SL, this puts me in mind of a post of yours a while back about amateur hot sauces. I agreed with everything you had to say (you know, for a change?). One of your points was that what people are paying for when they buy a "legit" hot sauce that has jumped through the hoops is peace of mind, but you also said that you personally are willing to take that chance when it comes to amateur sauces.
 
Applied here, I have to admit that I take personal chances when it comes to food safety that I would never take with anything I passed on to someone else, whether for profit or not.
 
For anyone wanting to hedge their bets, I'd suggest reading the section on foodborne illnesses in Modernist Cuisine, and doing some research here: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/home
 
Not that I'm telling you not to refrigerate. Officially, I'm telling you that you should invest in a biosafety cabinet and sanitize anything you plan on ingesting.

But the best advice by far I can offer regarding CaJohn's Reaper Sling Blade hot sauce is to try it on some biscuits with mustard. I also like it with mustard on french fried potaters mhmmm.
@Wicked Mike-   I know we really do agree on a whole lot more, so it's all good.  :D
 
This sauce we are talking about in this thread is a commercially produced sauce from CaJohn's, so whatever it says on the bottle is what the consumer should do.
 
Refrigerate or Not....If the buyer/consumer has a question...look at the label!  Beyond that it is up to the consumer if they follow the manufacturer's recommendations or not.  
 
 
I have a couple amateur sauces that arrived recently and I have confidently opened and tasted them.  I also have a sauce that I ordered from a commercial sauce maker, the lid was not tight, liquid leaked out and down the bottle, the sauce was a wing sauce  (not Defcon....just making that clear just because Defcon is active here...).............but even though the sauce was commercially produced , the lid was compromised and the bottle will be pitched. 
 
DoooDooo occurs, and I'm pitching the commercial Wing Sauce and eating the hobby sauces. 
PS- as a consumer who paid for the compromised wing sauce, I will be contacting the manufacture of the sauce in question just to let them know  of the problem.  What they do with the information is up to them.  They are the business.
 
That sauce is fine left out. He said he is consuming fast anyway.
 
salsalady said:
whatever it says on the bottle is what the consumer should do.
So we have to refrigerate ketchup and mustard? No. Butter? No. Why do we have to follow bureaucratic bs if we know the truth?
 
The Hot Pepper said:
That sauce is fine left out. He said he is consuming fast anyway. 
 Unless you are a Process Authority with knowledge of the actual recipe, that is not an accurate assessment of the recipe to make that determination.  Likely it is safe to be left out on the counter.  But it is not up to us as consumers to make that determination.
 
No one has to do anything that they are told to do with regards to refrigeration of commercially prepared products.  
 
I'm sure it's all a conspiracy and is probably backed by Monsanto.  Just leave that bleu cheese dressing out on the counter for 3 weeks so it can "age at ambient temperatures"......But if the product is not refrigerated as recommended on the label and the person gets sick....it's their own fault.
 
If it doesn't say "refrigerate".....leave it out all day every day~~~~
 
 
If the product says "refrigerate".....leave it out at your own risk and assume the consequences of that decision.   
 
 
 
EDIT- regarding the first line of this reply- unless you are a Process Authority, statements like 'this sauce is OK based on it's ingredients" should not be made.  This discussion was had recently with specific proportions to show that just because a certain ingredient is listed first does not guarantee accurate acidity in a recipe...
 
I"m sure there's a google out there that can find that post.
 
I'm Typing ala TB Mode
 
Double spaced.
 
HEY!  It really does read easier!!!!
 
Of course it's up to him. But he wanted our opinions based on those ingredients. You say, there is no way to tell from an ingredients list and to listen to the manufacturer. I say, based on the hundreds I have left out, it will be fine. Your answer is more bureaucratic. Mine is based on experience. He can consider both and try it if he wants. :)

I understand you are a manufacturer so you have to play it that way. I have no problem giving an educated opinion. So we'll do this dance again next time someone asks. ;)
 
And there we go, do-si-do... (I do like to dance! :lol::dance:
I also understand your point of view, Boss, and understand why posting that way. 
 
 
I have left sauces out with no worries, have pitched some hobby sauces as soon as they hit the front door, have left hobby sauces out, have left my own "refrigerate after opening" sauces out, have pitched brand new commercially licensed sauces that just appeared "wonky"...
 
 
As a processor, I always look for the weak link or worst case scenarios when considering food safety things.  It's a sad, but necessary, thing we must do.  As WickedMike pointed out,  when buying a commercially prepared sauce, the consumer is relying on the manufacturer to tell them if the sauce needs to be refrigerated or not.  Same as when the consumer buys a gallon of milk and it says "KEEP REFRIGERATED" instead of "REFRIGERATE AFTER OPENING."
ps- I did a post recently breaking down the same ingredients showing how they could be listed in the same order but have very different results on the product....I think it was in regards to how a sauce could have a Trinidad Scorpion on the label and as one of the first 4 ingredients and still not be ~that hot!~......
 
So you're saying leave it out?





































:runs:




















:lol:
 
The Hot Pepper said:
So you're saying leave it out?





































:runs:




















:lol:
BOOOOOOSSSSSSS!  If this were The Lounge...you know what would show up!  :lol: 
 
 
I just got a SecretSanta box of goodies from Volcanic Peppers that included a Spicy Ketchup and the label does not say Refrigerate.....so, I'm leaving it out! 
But the Allepo and Mango sauces are getting the Chill.
 
See?  I can leave it out with the best~~~  :lol:
 
SL livin' on the edge I love it!!! :rofl:
 
Pushing the envelope by leaving the ketchup on the kitchen counter.....Yep, that's me!  Living the Wild Life!  :rofl: 
 
 
(I seriously am giggling right now!  :lol:
 
so it is the Ghost Of A Dog that is posting on THP as LDHS????
 
:cool:  :lol:
 
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