Storing soy sauce at room temperature is perfectly fine. However, if you don't plan on regularly using it in your cooking, storing the soy sauce in the refrigerator will keep it at peak quality for longer.
The short answer? Nope, soy sauce doesn't need to be refrigerated… most of the time. One of the cool things about fermented foods like fish sauce and miso is that they can technically be left out at room temperature for some time without spoiling.
Unopened soy sauce can last indefinitely in your pantry. An opened bottle can retain its best quality in your kitchen for six months and can last up to two to three years when refrigerated.
As long as no water or other ingredients have been added to the soy sauce, it would not spoil if it had not been refrigerated.
Soy sauce is another necessity. It'll last around three years if unopened, but it should be used up within one month if refrigerated after opening.
Toss the packet if it appears puffy or damaged; When you open the packet, check the color and texture of the sauce and discard it if there is an odd coloration, texture, or odor.
Store your soy sauce in a cool and dry place away from direct sunlight and heat sources like the stove or oven. Exposure to heat and light can accelerate the oxidation process, which may cause the soy sauce to lose its flavor and become darker in color.
Award-winning cookbook author Grace Young tells me that she actually does refrigerate her soy sauce, but says that most Chinese home cooks leave it out at room temperature. “Most are using bottles (and not jugs) which they use up within six to 12 months.
Very few if any commercially made sauces, condiments, etc. will be harmed in any way by being left out. Ketchup or mustard for example DOES NOT NEED TO BE REFRIGERATED. If you leave it out for a month or two you might begin to notice the flavor has changed, but then again you might not.
Once opened, the soy sauce will start to lose its freshness and the flavor will begin to change. By refrigerating the sauce, the flavor and quality will remain at their peak for a longer period.
The white substance that looks like mold is actually a yeast that grows even in a high-sodium environment. It is called film yeast, and it is not mold. Film yeast does not cause food poisoning. In terms of food sanitation, there is no problem with a sauce even if film yeast develops.
The best way to store unopened oyster sauce is in a cool dark place like the pantry at a constant temperature, away from heated appliances like the stove or dishwasher. Once opened, oyster sauce must be constantly kept in the refrigerator in its original glass container with the lid tightly sealed.
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; coconut oil is actually best kept out of the fridge since it hardens below room temperature.
If you accidentally left out soy milk, you might be wondering how long it can sit out at room temperature. The official recommendation is that perishable products, such as soy milk, shouldn't sit out of the fridge for more than 2 hours. It's also known as the 2-hour rule.
They said: “There's no need to keep ketchup in the fridge. Not only does it contain vinegar, but tomatoes are naturally acidic, and this helps to preserve the product in ambient (room temperature) conditions.”
According to the US Food and Drug Administration, perishable foods that are supposed to be refrigerated, like juice, can only be left out at room temperature for two hours before it's considered unsafe to consume.
Many of the most common condiments last perfectly fine outside the fridge, including ketchup and barbecue sauces – both will keep up to one month at room temperature. The timeframes are even more generous in more acidic condiments such as mustard (two months), soy sauce (one year), and hot sauce (three years).
Soy sauce embraces a little of all the best flavors in Chinese cooking, and that's one of the reasons it's such an essential part of so many Chinese food dishes. You'll find sweet, savory, umami, and even a touch of bitter flavoring, and it all blends well with many other spices and oils in Chinese dishes.
Do Fresh Eggs Need to Be Refrigerated? Freshly laid eggs need to be refrigerated immediately. Fresh eggs purchased from a farmers market need to be refrigerated as soon as you get home. Per USDA guidelines, eggs should be stored at 40 degrees F or below to help minimize the risk of Salmonella.
In Chinese cuisines, soy sauce is used both for its salty-savory flavor and for what the Chinese call its deep “red” color. It is not just a kitchen seasoning but also a table condiment and a brining agent for pickles and preserves.
In soy sauce fermentation, Aspergillus oryzae is the main fermentation microbe (Kim et al. 2017; Xu et al. 2010), but other related microbes, such as bacteria and yeasts, and their enzyme systems have a crucial effect on the quality and special flavour of soy sauce.
Some strains of spoilage bacteria can grow in soy sauces with low levels of salt (<15%) and affect the food safety; accordingly, developing a healthier soy sauce product is always constricted by low-salt (LS) fermentation.
For unopened products in plastic bottles, the soy sauce should be used within two years of its production date code, and, the teriyaki marinade & sauce, rice vinegars, and other Asian sauces generally should be used within 18 months.