Ketchup - Refrigerator or Pantry
The butter conversation started me thinking. I was raised on storing ketchup in the refrigerator. My husband's mom kept it in the cupboard. Since I have this near phobia about food poisoning, we keep it in the refrigerator. Thoughts?
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22 Comments:
fridge.
though, restaurants keep ketchup bottles out on the table all the time, and (presumably) people aren't constantly getting sick from it. hm...
NYCEater at 6:44PM on 11/30/08
After it is opened, in the fridge.
izatryt at 6:44PM on 11/30/08
I always sniff the ketchup in restos before using it for that very reason. There is nothing worse then bad ketchup and I speak from experience!
izatryt at 6:45PM on 11/30/08
Fridge for me (surprise!). That's after it's opened. Factory sealed, it can live in the pantry till first use.
And I nuke cold ketchup before putting it on hot food because I like my food screaming hot and cold ketchup kind of ruins that.
therealchiffonade at 6:54PM on 11/30/08
@chiff ~ Now THAT is a great tip. Just amazing you are.
izatryt at 6:57PM on 11/30/08
Fridge for me too. I am quite certain that growing up, we kept it on the counter though...? I'm not sure now. Then again, as we know, refrigerating habits here and in Europe are somewhat different, so it's possible I remember this correctly.
brooke29 at 7:05PM on 11/30/08
I use the fridge after it's open.
I don't think it spoils all that fast, so it's fine for restaurants to keep it out on the table since it's gets used up fairly fast if the place gets business.
wunami at 7:06PM on 11/30/08
54 years of ketchup kept in the cupboard and no one has ever gotten sick. The acidity in the tomatoes as well as in the vinegar keeps it from going off unless you live in a very, very hot place and have no air conditioning. I don't use the stuff often but when I do I don't want to use cold ketchup on a hot dish.
smallblondemom at 7:18PM on 11/30/08
We put it in the fridge after it's been opened too. It takes us a really long time to finish up a bottle of ketchup.
runnereater at 7:45PM on 11/30/08
the fridge
dearrie at 7:57PM on 11/30/08
Kitchen counter (too tall for the shelves in our cabinet). Next to the soy sauce.
renzata at 8:09PM on 11/30/08
Ketchup is a pickle, so in theory it probably is okay not refrigerated. I always keep it in the fridge after it's opened- I use it so slowly that I don't trust leaving it out.
cmtigger at 12:23AM on 12/01/08
Pantry. It is a condiment with vinegar and tomatoes. Cold ketchup is a drag.
JerzeeTomato at 12:43AM on 12/01/08
fridge after opening. We dont use it very often and when we do I do the nuker routine too. Also I wont use ketchup in resteraunts, even if they use it up quickly, alot just refill from a larger container, sorry but thats just too nasty to think about.
huneybumper at 8:15AM on 12/01/08
I keep it out too.....good rule of thumb, if it says 'refridgerate after opening', then refridgerate. Ketchup does not say refridgerate after opening on it.
I've never refridgerated it either, and no one has ever gotten sick on ketchup in my house.
mepolo at 9:12AM on 12/01/08
fridge after opening.
juliebugsmama at 9:18AM on 12/01/08
I keep it in the fridge. What about worcestershire sauce? BF and I can't come up with a good answer on whether we should refrigerate or not, so we keep on bottle in the pantry and another in the fridge.
Kerosena at 11:47AM on 12/01/08
kero- i keep mine in the pantry
But for ketchup my bottle says fridge after opening so that is what I do. It take us like a yr to use up a bottle so that is a long time in a cupboard.
love2cook at 12:03PM on 12/01/08
Pantry for ketchup, fridge for all red spices though.
ocarol at 12:18PM on 12/01/08
Fridge from the get-go, although I'm not in a ketchup phase right now.
I always liked the frisson of cold ketchup/hot breaded food (like Boca patties or fries).
HeartofGlass at 12:19PM on 12/01/08
We keep it in the pantry until we open it. Then it goes in the fridge.
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 2:28PM on 12/01/08
After opening it I just keep it in the fridge. Though if I am going to use it I take it out early and let it get room temp. to me me when doing this it has more flavor.
pjracz10 at 1:20PM on 12/02/08