10 Condiments You Should Never Store in the Fridge (But Everyone Does)

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10 Condiments You Should Never Store in the Fridge (But Everyone Does)

Famous Flavors

Image Credits: Wikimedia; licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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Ketchup

Ketchup (image credits: unsplash)
Ketchup (image credits: unsplash)

Ketchup will be fine for a month outside the fridge, while mustard will last for two months. Heinz weighed in, and while they said their product is shelf-stable, they recommend refrigeration as it will help maintain the quality of their ketchup. The USDA agrees and suggests storing ketchup in fridge for freshness and using it within six months of opening. Think about it – restaurants leave ketchup sitting on tables for hours, sometimes all day long. Feingold puts it like this: “The question that you have to ask yourself is, ‘How frequently do you use ketchup?’ If you love ketchup on your daily eggs and eat a lot of burgers and fries, then you can probably leave it on your kitchen table, much like at a diner. People that use their ketchup more sparsely may choose to refrigerate to ensure longer shelf life.” The high sugar and vinegar content in ketchup acts as a natural preservative. Listen up, French fry fans: You don’t have to refrigerate ketchup at home, even after you open it, for up to 2 months. Just like your favorite diner does it – keep it in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight.

Mustard

Mustard (image credits: flickr)
Mustard (image credits: flickr)

As long as the mustard doesn’t contain fruits or vegetables, it has enough acid in it as a preservative. Yellow, Dijon, or even whole-grain can be put away in the cabinet for up to two months. The key ingredient here is vinegar, which creates an inhospitable environment for bacteria. These classic condiments can be kept in your cabinet for up to a month. Their natural acidity acts as a safeguard against bacterial growth; therefore, there is no need to refrigerate them. Most people automatically toss their mustard in the fridge after opening, but it’s completely unnecessary. Your pantry shelf is perfectly fine for standard yellow mustard, Dijon, and whole grain varieties. No matter the kind of mustard (Dijon, yellow, or whole grain), best practice is to store it in fridge. However, this “best practice” is more about optimal quality than safety – the mustard won’t spoil in your pantry.

Hot Sauce

Hot Sauce (image credits: flickr)
Hot Sauce (image credits: flickr)

There’s little risk in not refrigerating hot sauce even after its opened, thanks to two key ingredients, vinegar and salt, which act as preservatives for up to eight weeks after its opened. But if you want to extend its shelf life, you can keep hot sauce in the refrigerator for up to six months. Hot sauce is basically a fortress of preservation thanks to its combination of vinegar, salt, and capsaicin from the peppers themselves. Both of these ingredients have natural preservation properties that keep your sauces safe to eat for longer periods of time. The capsaicin in the peppers also helps to prevent the growth of bacteria, and even older bottles of hot sauce are unlikely to cause major illness if consumed after an expiration date. A commercially-produced hot sauce with high concentrations of vinegar and salt, like Tabasco, Frank’s Red Hot, sambal olek, or Tapatio, is usually safe to keep at room temperature. Sweeter sauces like Sriracha are also safe in the pantry. The only exceptions are artisanal hot sauces with fresh ingredients or those containing fruits that might have lower acidity levels.

Soy Sauce

Soy Sauce (image credits: wikimedia)
Soy Sauce (image credits: wikimedia)

Common condiments that don’t require refrigeration include soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, honey and hot sauce. Soy sauce has been a pantry staple in Asian kitchens for centuries, long before refrigeration was even invented. Similar to vinegar-based condiments, soy sauce has a longer shelf life compared to other common go-to sauces. Unopened, soy sauce can be safe to have on stock for up to three years. Like everything else, though, soy sauce does have a recommended expiration date after opened and used. Use soy sauce within a year of opening. The high sodium content acts as a natural preservative, creating an environment where harmful bacteria simply can’t survive. Kikkoman, one prominent soy sauce producer, suggests refrigerating soy sauce despite it being safe to store at room temperature. The USDA agrees, stating that shelf-stable soy sauce and teriyaki sauce are safe when stored at room temperature after opening and that quality, not safety, is why these products suggest refrigeration after opening. So while the bottle might say “refrigerate after opening,” it’s really just a quality recommendation, not a safety requirement.

Honey

Honey (image credits: stocksnap)
Honey (image credits: stocksnap)

Honey is acidic and has very little moisture. This makes it a poor environment for bacteria to survive (this is a good thing!). Since bacteria growth isn’t an issue, you don’t need to refrigerate honey. Nor should you. Cold causes honey to become solid, and you’d have to warm it up to use it. Cold can also cause honey to crystallize. Think about it – honey has been found in ancient Egyptian tombs, still perfectly edible after thousands of years. Honey can be stored in the pantry for up to two years from the date of purchase according to the USDA. Although for best quality, the USDA suggests consuming honey within one year. Much like olive oil, you want to store honey in a cool, dry spot away from light and heat. Overtime honey can naturally crystallize, but it’s still safe to consume and can be reheated to reliquify it. Refrigerating honey is actually counterproductive – it makes it thick and difficult to use. Your pantry is the perfect home for this liquid gold.

Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter (image credits: unsplash)
Peanut Butter (image credits: unsplash)

With the exception of natural peanut butters, this nutty spread can be safely kept in your cupboard for up to three months after its opened. But beware: because peanut butter has few preservatives, it can easily degrade. Regular commercial peanut butter is designed to be shelf-stable, packed with oils and preservatives that keep it fresh at room temperature. Peanut butter can also be on the shelf with one big caveat by a food safety expert: Make sure the kids aren’t sticking a jelly-coated knife into it when smearing onto their PB&J sandwiches. That’s asking for bacteria to grow and should go straight into the fridge. The key is keeping it contamination-free – always use a clean knife. Peanut butter, much like regular butter, can both be stored in the pantry and fridge, but again, popping it in the fridge extends its shelf-life. Natural peanut butters with oil separation are a different story and should be refrigerated after opening, but your standard Skippy or Jif is perfectly happy in the pantry.

Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil (image credits: wikimedia)
Coconut Oil (image credits: wikimedia)

Feingold says vinegars and olive oil (stored in a cool, dark place) are pantry-bound; coconut oil is actually best kept out of the fridge since it hardens below room temperature. Coconut oil becomes rock-hard when chilled, making it nearly impossible to scoop or measure for cooking. Store coconut oil in a container with an air-tight cap (it can be the container you purchased it in, just make sure the lid closes tightly) in your coolest kitchen cupboard away from the light. Coconut oil is extremely high in saturated fat, which makes it fairly stable as far as oils go, meaning it resists oxidation and rancidity well. Marris adds that while you can refrigerate coconut oil to keep it fresh for a longer period of time, doing so will change its texture. It will harden the coconut oil. This is ideal if you are using it for no-bake applications, but can make it difficult to handle. As with any oil, air, light, and high temperatures speed up the degradative process, which is why I like to store my coconut oil in a dark, cool cupboard away from the light. Your pantry is ideal – cool, dark, and accessible when you need to measure it out for recipes.

Olive Oil

Olive Oil (image credits: flickr)
Olive Oil (image credits: flickr)

Most cooking oils can be kept in a pantry or cupboard instead of the fridge. The only exception is nut oils. Check the back of the bottle if you’re not sure. Olive oil actually becomes cloudy and thick when refrigerated, which can make it difficult to pour and use in cooking. The one thing you should never do is store your oils above the stove where they are exposed to heat inside their containers on a regular basis. Extra virgin olive oil, vegetable oils, peanut oils, and coconut oils should be stored in a cool, dark place that’s also dry—preferably a pantry away from appliances and sunlight because exposure to heat breaks down the oils, and, in turn, can make them rancid. The Mediterranean cultures that have been using olive oil for thousands of years certainly weren’t storing it in refrigerators. A cool, dark pantry shelf away from heat sources is perfect. While refrigeration won’t hurt olive oil, it’s completely unnecessary and makes it less convenient to use.

Vinegar

Vinegar (image credits: flickr)
Vinegar (image credits: flickr)

Common condiments that don’t require refrigeration include soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, honey and hot sauce. Feingold says vinegars and olive oil (stored in a cool, dark place) are pantry-bound. Vinegar is literally a preservative – it’s what keeps other condiments shelf-stable in the first place. The acetic acid in vinegar creates an environment so hostile to bacteria that it’s been used for food preservation for thousands of years. High vinegar content sauces including mustard and Worcestershire sauce can last up to three years in the pantry, but only around 12 months once the seal is broken and you’ve begun refrigerating. Whether it’s white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or balsamic, they’re all designed to live happily in your pantry. Vinegar acts as a natural preservative in hot sauce. Its acidity creates an inhospitable environment for bacteria and other microorganisms, inhibiting their growth. The higher the vinegar content, the longer the hot sauce will generally last. That bottle of balsamic you paid top dollar for? It doesn’t need premium fridge real estate – just a cool, dark pantry spot.

Worcestershire Sauce

Worcestershire Sauce (image credits: unsplash)
Worcestershire Sauce (image credits: unsplash)

Worcestershire sauce is another condiment that certainly benefits from fridge-time but isn’t necessary. This complex sauce is packed with vinegar, salt, and fermented ingredients that make it incredibly shelf-stable. You may not know how to pronounce it, but you need to know how to store this sauce. The classic condiment full of savory flavor is best stored for quality and freshness in the fridge, but is safe to store in the pantry for up to one year after opening. High vinegar content sauces including mustard and Worcestershire sauce can last up to three years in the pantry, but only around 12 months once the seal is broken and you’ve begun refrigerating. The fermentation process that creates Worcestershire sauce essentially pre-preserves it, making refrigeration optional rather than mandatory. Like many condiments, companies recommend refrigeration to maintain peak quality, but it’s perfectly safe stored in your pantry for months.

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