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, 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 it can be kept 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 is 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 … 🙂
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