In our house, we love hot sauce. From the spicy condiment sprinkled on top (chili), to the sauce on the side (okra), to the ingredient in soup and other dishes, we use hot sauce on, with, or in our food. For years I’ve kept it all refrigerated.
Then one day my beloved got obsessed by the burning question – do we really need to refrigerate all this hot sauce?
As he points out, go to any barbecue joint and you’ll see hot sauces on the tables, unrefrigerated.
Why do I refrigerate hot sauce? The answer lies in two parts of my life that I’m betting many can relate to: my upbringing and force of habit.
My mom was a biochemist. Her interest in microorganisms didn’t end when she left the lab. Without using the phrase “food safety”, she routinely followed a rather strict regime for refrigerating foods and disposing of leftovers that had laid around too long.
She always refrigerated condiments after opening. And so, without giving it a second thought, I always refrigerate hot sauce after opening the bottle or jar.
Although my mom would be glad to hear how her training has stuck with me, she also believes in research. I figure that means she would also want me to find out for myself whether it is really necessary to refrigerate hot sauce. So I did my homework. I checked with hot sauce manufacturers, sources such as The Kitchn, and read the tiny print on hot sauce bottles.
The answer is [drumroll!!!!] – it depends.
If the hot sauce contains fruit, vegetables, or eggs, such as sriracha mayonnaise or homemade sriracha dipping sauce with mayonnaise, then it should be refrigerated.
On the other hand, if it contains only chilis in any form, vinegar, garlic, salt, xanthan gum (a thickening and stabilizing agent) and preservatives such as potassium sorbate and sodium bisulfite, such as “regular” sriracha or tabasco, then you can leave it unrefrigerated, in a cool, dry place.
Note that if you leave any hot sauces unrefrigerated, their color may darken over time. The Kitchn lists unrefrigerated hot sauces as having a 3-year shelf life, but that is just an estimate. One source claimed that refrigerating vinegar-based hot sauces (that do not contain fruits, vegetables or eggs) weakens their flavor.
Manufacturers’ advice about whether to refrigerate hot sauce:
- Frank’s RedHot manufactures 9 different hot sauces. It recommends refrigerating two of them, Frank’s RedHot Sweet Chili® and Frank’s RedHot® Slammin’ Sriracha® Chili Sauce, after opening. Frank’s says that refrigerating its other sauces keeps them fresher, but is not required.
- On its website, Cholula says you need not refrigerate its hot sauces. However, Cholula does not put that advice on individual bottles. Also, its site recommends using hot sauce within 6 months after opening. Again, Cholula does not include that advice on the bottles themselves.
- Texas Pete recommends refrigeration for only one of its hot sauces, CHA! , a sriracha hot chili sauce. That means even its garlic hot sauce is shelf stable enough to be kept unrefrigerated. Texas Pete does, however, state that refrigeration will keep its products fresher for longer, contradicting the source that said refrigerating vinegar-based hot sauces was not a good idea.
- Huy Fong Foods makes Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce and Vietnamese Style Chili Garlic Sauce among others. On its site, Huey Fong says that you do not need to refrigerate its products. Instead, you should store them in a cool place. However, the company does not put that information on all of its products.
I’m going to continue to refrigerate my entire hot sauce collection. I don’t want to have to differentiate between those that require it and those I could leave in a cool, dry place. How about you?
Where do you keep your hot sauces? And will any of this information change what you’ve done up to now with regard to where you keep them?
PS – On a related note, several sources pointed out that it is important to clean the tops of hot sauce bottles. The reason is that crust on the cap provides a fertile area for growth of bacteria.
Mom – I’m going to check all my hot sauce caps right now!
Michelle | A Dish of Daily Life says
Interesting…I always refrigerate mine…I never thought to do otherwise! I’m not sure I can break the habit though.
Laura says
No need to break the habit says the woman who can’t break it:)
Karen @ Karen's Kitchen Stories says
Because my collection is huge (and I mean huge, lol), I keep them refrigerated. Great post!
Laura says
Thanks for the compliment Karen – I’m like you, keeping them all refrigerated so I don’t have to decide on a bottle-by-bottle basis. But of course, my beloved may start yanking them out of the refrigerator at any moment.
Kirsten says
Laura,
I have tabasco and cholula on the table next to the salt and pepper shakers (the tabasco in a silver tabasco caddy my mom got with box tops eons ago). In the fridge goes the sriracha, the chili garlic, the Frank’s red hot.
Even though I see soy sauce sitting out at room temp, and ketchup sitting out at room temp, I store mine in the fridge too.
Excellent post–I’ve wondered!
Laura says
Thanks Kirsten. I know that most of us are not completely rational about where we keep our hot sauces and similar condiments. But hopefully we all stay safe, food safety-wise.
Derek says
I don’t put hot sauces in the fridge. I just figured with the amount of vinegar in most of the styles I have that it will preserve it just fine. Plus I’m running out of fridge room anyway!
Laura says
Derek, You’re among the many who figure they are fine on the shelf. And if I wasn’t so intent on reading labels, I would have gone your way. I do wonder what would happen if I called all the companies that suggest refrigeration and asked them if it’s really necessary.
Derek says
I always feel they list the refrigeration recommendation as a CYA in case the flavor doesn’t last too long. Obviously there is no negative in keeping it in the fridge, and there could be a positive.
MaxG says
Garlic is your worry. If it doesn’t have garlic refrigeration isn’t necessary.
My family has been canning for 6 generations now, and not one has ever gotten food poisoning from it.
Laura says
Max, That makes sense. It’s also true that you have to be careful of herbed vinegars that contain garlic.
Tonya says
I have Frank’s Red Hot Sauce that I put in the refrigerator. Out of habit, LOL. It does not say anything on the bottle and my kids want me to leave it at room temperature. I wonder if you can take it out after it’s already been refrigerated and leave at room temperature. Hmmm! Thanks in advance for any advice.
Laura says
What a great question Tonya! I don’t have any expert (food safety or scientific) information on whether you can now leave out your previously refrigerated hot sauce, but as a matter of common sense, I’d think it’s OK. Of course, I still refrigerate mine, so … 🙂
Christina-Marie Miyar says
I leave it at room tempature because I use crystal and it’s not very strong. I like it that way and I like to use a lot of it. If you poor icy cold hot sauce all over your food it’s kind of… yuck. This is what I don’t get about unnecessarily refrigerating hot sauce. Don’t you hate pouring icy liquid all over your hot food?
Laura says
Even when I do refrigerate my hot sauce, typically I take it out of the refrigerator as I’m preparing the food, so it is just about room temperature when I use it.
Alex says
I keep a bottle of Louisiana at my desk at work. Like your article said, it has gotten darker over time. I was unsure if I should throw it out or not so I decided to google it and I ended up here. I would typically refrigerate at home but its a little less convenient to do so at work.
Laura says
Alexandra, So if you follow my husband’s “rule” you’re fine leaving the bottle at work unrefrigerated. I guess only really refrigeration-crazed people (like me) insist on using up valuable refrigerator space with hot sauce:)
Al says
I googled whether refrigeration necessary and came here.
Just got 13 new sauces and saw 12 of them say refrigerate after opening.
I have a number of sauces in cabinet currently that are about ten years old and a number of them also indicated refrigeration after opening.
Still tasty, so either works I guess.
Laura says
Al, As you could tell from my post, there is no consensus on refrigerating hot sauce, even in my own family. I still haven’t come across a case of food poisoning attributed to hot sauces left unrefrigerated so it seems as though taste is as good a way as any other to tell if they are still good.
jess says
i work in a resturaunt – a canada wide chain – and we never once refridgerate ours, tabasco and franks. so i go by that. mostly just to save some fridge space.
Laura says
Jess, My husband is on your side 🙂 Laura
Dana says
Like you, I refrigerate everything. Easier to find stuff!
If I was using a bottle a week, like in a commercial kitchen, I might not bother.
Just found a ‘local’ brand, made by Northampton Olive Oil Company, that is amazing.
Laura says
Dana, Haha, birds of a feather. Had to look up the Northampton Olive Oil Company – those hot sauces look amazing. Maybe I’ll pick up a bottle next time I’m up your way.
Pat says
New question….if you happen to get the sauce on your clothes, what do you recommend using to get the stain out? I have washable white slacks!
Thanks in advance for your answer!
Laura says
Pat, I’m no cleaning expert. I do however, have a lot of experience getting food stains out of my clothes and find that Shout works best for me. (I’m not compensated in any way by the company that makes Shout, just a fan.)
Brad says
Laura:
Your mother was wise in her concerns – and obviously, her education backed those concerns. She would most likely back my statements when I say the answer lies in what the Ph level is in any given concoction. Most harmful (and potentially deadly) bacteria must have an environment they can grow and thrive in – which is generally ‘high’ (or alkaline) on the Ph level scale. Mayonnaise used to get blamed for the bacteria that made people sick from eating things like potato salad that was left out in open air for too long. Turns out that the Mayo was actually helping to preserve it. The culprit? Raw onions. Onions are high in Ph (alkaline), which creates a haven for salmonella to set in. The vinegar in mayo is low in Ph, or ‘acidic’, of which these harmful bacteria cannot grow, let alone thrive in, which is why our foremothers (and forefathers) used vinegar when canning, to add that extra safeguard to ensure our well-being when we finally got around to opening our canned goods. That being said, we still should keep things like potato salad in ice at picnics, if only as a safeguard (and it tastes better cold anyway).
Me? Certain things I still put in the fridge, like mustard; maybe it’s force of habit? I don’t know – but I highly doubt that refrigerating our favorite hot sauces ‘ruin’ the flavor – unless you’re storing it with the cap off, where it’s picking up other flavors. I’d be willing to bet that if you took your favorite hot sauce(s) out a couple hours ahead of time and compared it/them with a freshly-opened bottle, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference in taste.
Keep your mother’s wisdom at-hand – and when in doubt – refrigerate – it certainly won’t hurt anything, except maybe that 2-year-old jar of sliced olives, which needs to be pitched anyway. Just remember – onions, garlic, and many vegetables that are raw could pose a problem, if left out too long. Side dishes (and certain meat dishes) can be protected if vinegar is called for in the recipe, especially if served outdoors, so again – when in doubt – refrigerate ….and enjoy! Sorry so lengthy….
Laura says
Brad, Many thanks for your interesting comment. I’m especially appreciative for the info about onions, which I did not know. I’m definitely with you in the “when in doubt, refrigerate” camp.
Rob says
Hi, this is the second bottle of Cholula that has turned cloudy (top quarter of the bottle) on me. It’s just a few months old, and the use-by date is Apr 2020. It smells fine, but I’m still wondering if it’s ok to use? I didn’t refrigerate either bottle, however it is kept next to the stove which I bet is not a good idea 🙂
Laura says
Rob, Hmmm – have you contacted the Cholula company to see what they say about the cloudiness? Keeping it next to stove definitely not a good idea.
Rob says
It may be the stove. I keep Cholula in a desk drawer in my office. If I put it in the office fridge I would forever have to replenish it cause the thieves here would polish it off. 🙂
Rob says
My true hot sauces have no sugar and are simply spices, peppers, vinegar, and the like so they stay on the hanging door shelf in the pantry along with the soy sauce, worchestershire, A1, and chili oil. But things that are obvious (like Sriracha Mayo) and other condiments (taco sauce, ketchup, all flavors of mustard, etc) go in the fridge. The way I judge it at a glance is thickness of the sauce. Taco sauce is thick as is salsa (think and chunky) so they get refrigerated. Real hot sauces are thin (vinegar, peppers, spices, nothing to thicken it) and the ones I buy have no sugar (I’m diabetic).
Laura says
Interesting way to differentiate among your sources. Thanks for stopping by.
Zachary Gibbs says
I put my franks in the cabinet and it seems to me that as it sits thare it seems asthough it gets a litter hotter as it sits thare
Laura says
Zachary, Really? How interesting. Well, not surprised that you’re fine after leaving it out unrefrigwrated.