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hot-sauce Refrigerating hot sauce

C

ChiefMG

I apologize if this has been posted here before but I was wondering about something. I know some people keep their sauces on a shelf or something and others refrigerate them. Should I refrigerate mine after I open them or does it matter?
 
either or ?
 
if i wasnt going to use up the sauce within a couple weeks  i would fridge it.  but i like to fridge mine anyways. have several open at all times and some things get forgot about for a couple weeks.
 
 
i do know that the "leave out" peeps will say flavor is preserved and that knda jive. so leave it out.    which sauce room temp does taste better imo.
 
 throw it in the fridge and you know it will last for a couple months once opened.
 
i put out several diffrent sauces at most meals while im cooking. then people just can use what they want and the sauce is kinda room temp. so its a win win situation and you rotate your taste buds every night.
 
PrimeTime said:
i go fridge but let any condiment warm up before serving, i live by that!
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I particularly find that ketchup tastes way better room temperature. I found myself hating it on fries at home when it is cold but loving it at restaurants when its nice and warm.
 
No fridge for me.
 
Not only are you putting cold sauce on hot food, the flavor changes. Like the poster says above, ketchup on fries is a perfect example. When it's cold it ruins them, as well as the flavor being muted. When it's room temp it opens up and breathes, and all the flavors pop. Like a room temp red wine that breathes in a glass. A refrigerated red is more muted and does not breathe/pop.
 
If you want, take it out of the fridge 2 hours before you eat and it will be room temp, and store in fridge.
 
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If they are commercially prepared sauces, then follow what it says on the bottle.  Those that say "refrigerate after opening" should be refrigerated.  Tabasco and La Victoria don't say "refrigerate", so...there you go!  (those were the only 2 big commercial sauces in the fridge atm...)
 
Doing as others have suggested to pull the sauce out of the fridge a couple hours before serving is a pretty good comporomise. 
 
Ehh that's liability CYA. Ketchup says refrigerate too. So does BBQ sauce. Go to the south. Go to a picnic table joint outside, in the sun, where they sit all day. It's all good! :D
 
I've had commercially packed fruit sauces get skunky..... just sayin'.... 
 
 
Take all the opinions with a grain of salt, make your own choice~
 
I am pretty paranoid about food going bad, but I am more relaxed about hot sauce for some reason.  I do refrigerate mine, but I pay no attention to expiration dates.  I can usually tell by the look/consistency if it has turned.  I have had a few bottles go bad on me, but it takes far longer than one might expect.  Either that, or I am eating bad hot sauce without knowing it.  :)  
 
I asked Johnny @ HBD about this a while back because the Nuit en Enfer didn't have a "refrigerate after opening" instruction and his response was:
 
"Our sauces do not need to be refrigerated. Even the ones that say the should be. FDA requires the refrigerate after opening statement, but for most hot sauces the PH is so low it can be left out. I leave all of my sauces out."
 
Tony Cappello said:
I asked Johnny @ HBD about this a while back because the Nuit en Enfer didn't have a "refrigerate after opening" instruction and his response was:

"Our sauces do not need to be refrigerated. Even the ones that say the should be. FDA requires the refrigerate after opening statement, but for most hot sauces the PH is so low it can be left out. I leave all of my sauces out."
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Yeah some makers tell you straight up you can go against the refrigerate print. Even seen major makers do it.
 
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