Honestly, what sauces REALLY need to be refrigerated after opening?

[Tab]

I like weird sauces in bottles; I don't use them often, but every once in a while I want that orange mango sauce to rub on top of the salmon, or the apple barbecue sauce for the ribs.

So, when I'm in a shop and I see something interesting, I pick it up, tuck it away.

Now, almost all of them, to a fault, say "refrigerate after opening". I'm sure part of this is simply for legal protection, as in a "you can't say we didn't warn you" sort of defensive positioning.

Some of them are all natural ingredients and in a short while, unrefrigerated, don't last, but the majority, it seems to me, are just fine, refrigerated or unrefrigerated. Barbecue sauce, for instance. Do I really need to suck up space in my fridge for barbecue sauce? For all the restaurants I've worked at, I've never seen barbecue sauce refrigerated. Hell, I've eaten at a lot of restaurants that don't even refrigerate mayonnaise (which I personally WOULD refrigerate).

Thoughts on what you've found that seems to survive just fine?

[Stinky The Clown]

1. I refrigerate everything once its opened

But then .... I also spray my cutting boards with a bleach solution and use santizer on my hands before handling food.

To answer your question directly ... or at least more directly .... I've never had any bottled sauce go bad in the refrigerator. The more exotic stuff I usually use to fast to test. The mundane stuff I toss when the crust on the lid starts looking disgusting.

Come to think of it, I did have one item go bad on me ... and I was very surprized. I got some mango chutney from a friend when I was in Singapore some years ago. It was actually made in The Phillipnes. I opened it when I got home and it was great. Within a week the smell was 'off' and I tossed it. I seem to recall it was, as you point out, all natural with no preservatives. But I was surprized, as I said. I've never had another chutney of any kind, including other mangoes, go bad.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

2. Me, too

I refrigerate everything after opening. I've had too many strange moments of wondering what that stuff was on the top of the ice cream topping or trying to remember if the salsa really smelled like household bleach.

There have also been far too many cases of food poisoning in this family - we're kind of adventuresome where new taste treats are concerned, and so we eat... well ... everything. Hence, my conservative habits vis a vis refrigeration.

It's just a safe bet, that's all. Personally, I'd never use restaurants standards in my home, having been in the restaurant business.

Repack the fridge, and be careful............

[mandyky]

3. I even refrigerate vinegar once I open it

I don't refrigerate oils though unless it says to do so on labels.

Even stuff in the frigs get moldy sometimes.

Sometimes mustard, ketchup, worchestershire sauce or soy sauce get left out over night, but that is about it.

[mike_c]

4. refrigerate them all....

if nothing else, it will slow down their loss of flavor.

[Tab]

5. Guess I'll have to buy me another fridge...

Currently almost everything I have IS in the fridge, but I've been looking at it and wondering if some of this stuff - particularly the mass-produced loaded-with-chemicals-stuff REALLY needs to be there or not.

Sounds like maybe a small fridge for storing this junk might be better...

Or maybe I should be more judicious in what I choose to buy. :(

[Dora]

6. Or you could throw the stuff out

If you haven't finished it off in, say, six months.

And the mass-produced loaded-with-chemicals stuff doesn't need to be in the fridge. Neither does it need to be in your cabinet. Toss 'em!

[baby_bear]

7. Depends on the relative amount of acid or sugar

Honey and vinegar don't need to be refrigerated. Everything in between should be considered somewhat vulnerable to bacterial infestation at room temperature, and dressings/sauces/condiments that are not highly acidic or do not have a lot of sugar (or salt) also have limited shelf lives IN the fridge.

Refrigerate it, and throw it out if there is any doubt.

And never, ever leave oil infused with garlic or herbs at room temperature. That is a recipe for Botulinum toxin.

b_b