Friday Fun: Office hot sauce - to refrigerate or not?

[FTMLuc]

Our office bottle of Frank's hot sauce lives in the refrigerator. The somewhat new guy used it this morning and put in back in the cupboard rather then the fridge, necessitating a search for those of us who wanted to use it during lunch and resulting in a long debate as to where we should store it.

So, where do you keep your hot sauce?

[hillview]

fridge for us here.

[gcc2k]

Fridge. Surely it will last longer. With communal food, people aren't keeping track of how old something is as much as they would in their own house, so I say better safe than sorry and keep it in the fridge.

[Philly Mom]

In the cabinet. I would never think to put hot sauce in the fridge.

[elliput]

I would check the label to see if refrigeration is recommended. Otherwise, the cupboard.

[kristenk]

Salsa = fridge.
Hot sauce = cabinet.

[misshollygolightly]

I've always kept our hot sauce in the cabinet here at home. I mean, it's practically 100% vinegar (at least, Tobasco is), and I would never refrigerate my white vinegar or balsamic or anything. At home, we even keep our Sriracha on the counter, but we go through it pretty quickly and we don't live in a particularly hot place. I guess I might refrigerate Sriracha at work...but I still wouldn't refrigerate the Tobasco.

[JElaineB]

Frank's hot sauce is in the fridge. Tabasco is in the cupboard.

[kristenk]

According to the Frank's web site:


A: Quality, freshness and flavor are top priorities at Frank's RedHot. You may have noticed that we recently changed to a BEST WHEN USED BY DATE coding system on our packaging. This is not an expiration date. The date stamped on shoulder or the bottom of the bottle is the date we recommend that you use the product by to assure the product's optimum flavor, freshness and consistent quality. The product will generally maintain good flavor quality for a few months after that date if refrigerated. Refrigeration will help maintain its flavor; however, it is not necessary if you prefer your Frank's RedHot to be room temperature.

If your Frank's RedHot product does not have a BEST WHEN USED BY DATE, look for the Julian date production code on the bottle. This code consists of a letter followed by a 5 digit number. The letter represents the manufacturing location, the first two numbers represent the year the product was produced and the next three numbers is the day of the year. This would be a number from 001 - 365. The recommended shelf life of Frank's RedHot is 24 months from the date of manufacture.

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If the company says that refrigeration helps it maintain its flavor, I'd put it in the fridge. (So, yes, I'm changing my vote in this case, but in general, hot sauce = cabinet for me!)

[AnnieW625]

once it opened any hot sauce goes in the fridge. My parents always kept Tabasco in the cupboard though. Taco sauce was always in the fridge though.

[FTMLuc]

Thank you for the replies! This is so interesting.

At home we also keep all the hot sauce in the refrigerator.

[Pear]

I always keep in the fridge since it seems to last indefinitely that way.

[s7714]

Oh good lord, if I tell DH his hot sauces would be better off kept in the fridge I'd loose a large chuck of fridge space. They're, uh, fine in the cabinet... :innocent:

[wellyes]

Hot sauce is chili flavored vinegar, right? Vinegar or water. With salt. I don't refridgerate unless it tells me to.

[crayonblue]

Oh good lord, if I tell DH his hot sauces would be better off kept in the fridge I'd loose a large chuck of fridge space. They're, uh, fine in the cabinet... :innocent:

LOL!!!!!!

I keep all condiments in the fridge. But DH is not a condiment person so I'm fine. :)

[kbud]

We just got back from Costa Rica this week. All the hot sauce was just on the tables every place. I am certain they didn't pick them up at night either as we got the same empty bottle at the same table a few times.

We keep ours in the pantry.