It’s sort of a twist on whether of not condiments should be refrigerated. In case you’re wondering, according to the people at Heinz, ketchup should be in the fridge. Even though it really doesn’t need to be. Mustard is similar, but it varies according to what type of mustard. Dijon and horseradish mustard should be in the fridge. The yellow stuff doesn’t have to be. But what about hot sauce?
We were discussing this last weekend. In my family, there are only a couple people who like hot sauce. And, yes, I am one of them. But does it need to be refrigerated? It was cause for some discussion.
According to what I found online, again, it depends on what’s in your hot sauce. The experts say if vinegar is in the top couple of ingredients of any condiment, it really doesn’t need refrigeration. The vinegar is a preservative in itself, but many of them also have other ingredients to keep them stable while sitting on the table.
Also, apparently bacteria are not fans of hot sauce. Or at least the capsaicin, which is the hot part of the hot sauce, is not something bacteria like at all. And if you’re hot sauce has vinegar and capsaicin, you’re probably okay to leave it out.
However, for all condiments, they do say it helps maintain colour, texture and flavour if you put them in the fridge. And having had hot sauce that turned a shade of brown more so than red. It still tasted the same, but it was a little off putting.
So I guess your hot sauce should be in the fridge with the ketchup and mustard. And maybe others in my family were right.