Refrigeration not needed 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.
Many condiments can last for months without refrigeration if they haven't been opened. But once you open them, most sauces and salad dressings then need to be refrigerated, both for best flavor and for food safety.
Condiments such as ketchup and mustard
According to TheKitchn.com, yellow, Dijon, or even whole-grain mustard can be put away in the cabinet for up to two months and as mentioned before, ketchup can be kept outside the refrigerator for up to a month.
While refrigeration will help maintain flavor, it's not necessary to refrigerate if you prefer to consume your mustard at room temperature. The recommended shelf life from the date of manufacture of French's Mustard is 18 months in a squeeze bottle, and 24 months in a glass jar.”
The perishable nature of mayonnaise is also why you should throw out mayo that's been left out unrefrigerated overnight. It could be totally fine—until you get food poisoning. And, in general, the FDA recommends tossing perishable foods, including mayo, that have been left out at room temperature for two or more hours.
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.”
Ketchup usually comes with a best before date of about a year unopened and eight weeks in the fridge once opened. However, it is highly resistant to bacterial growth, lasting up to six months after opening,” Dr Hughes revealed.
An open jar of peanut butter stays fresh up to three months in the pantry. After that, it's recommended to store the peanut butter in the fridge (where it can maintain its quality for another 3-4 months). If you don't refrigerate, oil separation can occur.
According to food safety experts, once you open a bottle of Worcestershire sauce, it's best to store it in the refrigerator to prevent spoilage. The cold temperature slows down the growth of bacteria and other microorganisms that can cause the sauce to spoil.
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.
So while Dijon mustard won't necessary spoil at room temperature, you'll get more bang for your buck by keeping it in the fridge after it's opened.
The shelf life of apple cider vinegar is two years unopened, and one year once you've broken the seal on the bottle. You don't have to refrigerate apple cider vinegar once it's opened. Instead, store it in a pantry or cabinet, away from direct sunlight. Apple cider vinegar is highly acidic.
YES. Once the container is open, maple syrup should be refrigerated. Once in contact with air, mold could develop if the product is not refrigerated. What's more, refrigeration tends to reduce evaporation which is usually followed by crystallization of the product.
Soy sauce has indefinite shelf life if kept unopened.
Since soy sauce is fermented and is high in sodium, it won't go bad if left unopened. Even after opening, soy sauce won't expire for about three years if kept in the fridge.
Should You Leave Butter on the Counter? According to the USDA, butter is safe at room temperature. But if it's left out for several days at room temperature, it can turn rancid causing off flavors. The USDA does not recommend leaving it out more than one to two days.
Keep container in an area that will stay at average room temperature. Because honey is best stored at room temperature (somewhere between 64 to 75 F), keeping your container of honey on a shelf or in your pantry is recommended.
The Bottom Line. 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.
Shopping for and Storing Fish Sauce
Store it in a cool dark place, like the pantry, and away from any hot areas in your kitchen, like directly above the stove. You should avoid storing fish sauce in the fridge because cold temperatures will cause the salt to crystallize over time.
For example, some hot sauces change color over time if they're not refrigerated, like Tabasco. According to the McIlhenny Company's instructions, refrigerating your hot sauce is the best way to prevent this color change.
A: Opened home-canned jams and jellies should be kept in the refrigerator at 40°F or lower. “Regular” – or pectin-added, full-sugar – cooked jams and jellies are best stored for 1 month in the refrigerator after opening. They may last longer depending on the specific product and how it is used.
The easiest way to prevent your almond butter from going bad and extend its shelf-life—by as much as twice as long—is to pop it in the fridge. Keeping your almond butter in the fridge is especially important if you tend to purchase nut butters without preservatives or if you like to make your own nut butter.
Past this date, if it's unopened it's still perfectly good. Opened, peanut butter will slowly develop off-flavors of rancid nuts over the next five or so years before it'll taste so bad not even the most peanut butter-obsessed child will go near it. But it's still very unlikely to make you sick.
In Europe, farms vaccinate chickens against salmonella. That means the cuticle is still intact when eggs are sold. Refrigerating eggs with the cuticle intact could actually cause mildew to grow. Which could cause… you guessed it salmonella contamination.
Even Heinz weighed in on the subject a few years ago, stating that “because of its natural acidity, Heinz® Ketchup is shelf-stable. However, its stability after opening can be affected by storage conditions. We recommend that this product, like any processed food, be refrigerated after opening.
Since food with a pH value lower than 4.5 is too acidic to support the growth of spoilage bacteria, it's safe to store barbecue sauce at room temperature, in your cupboard or pantry. Conclusion: Keep your BBQ sauce anywhere you want.