Do you refrigerate hot sauce..

Im doubtful with such An acidic environment that its necessary. I see them sitting out on restaurant tables all the time.

 

No.

 

Yes, but I only just started doing it. Some internet info recommended refrigeration for longer freshness and retention of appearance/color, though I'm still not sure it is crucial.

My Crystal and Cholula eventually turned an ugly color at room temp, but I kept right on using both! We shall see if there's any difference keeping it in the fridge.

 

No

Spicy = safe warm

Sounds like fancy hippie sauces

 

Yeah, I do, same with ketchup (catsup?) and mustard.... I ain’t no restaurant, want this stuff to last...butter is in the fridge as well.

 

Why would you want a cool hot sauce?

 

The factory bottled stuff, no, but READ LABEL DIRECTIONS.
The homemade(?) stuff they give you at the drive-thru in the little plastic cups should be tossed after use. That stuff often gives sends me to the can with far greater effectiveness than the quantity would suggest. Good enough for procto-prep or to suddenly lose 15 lbs for a work physical.

 

If I think about it I will, force of habit from our last place of 15 years; tiny pantry, big fridge. Now if I need room in the fridge, I'll take it out and put it in the pantry. I go thru it so quickly I hardly need to put the cap on, but agree with the above re: acidity.

I have never seen mold on hot sauce, but maybe it's just never got old enough in my house.

 

For store bought sauce, no, I don't refrigerate it - hot or otherwise. If for no other reason than when I put it on hot food the cold sauce feels weird on the palate by contrast. Sweet chili and occasionally homemade stuff are the exceptions, but for the most part sauce-goes-in-the-cupboard is a hill I'm ever-ready to make my stand on.

 

A friend of mine once told me about finding a bottle of Tabasco that was apparently forgotten in the corner of a south-facing kitchen windowsill at a house that he rented. There was no evidence of how long that bottle had sat in that spot, but it was dusty, the label and cap were somewhat faded, and there were a few cobwebs. The bottle was only half full, but no mold or weirdness to the appearance of the contents, so he said he carefully took it down, wiped off the cobwebs, and gave it a shake. It shook around like Tabasco should, so he put a dab on his tongue.
About torched his face off.
Apparently, the pepper oil had gotten hotter with age and constant exposure to heat and sunlight. It was his favorite sauce for as long as it lasted (he was a heat freak), and he cherished it. He got into the habit of storing new bottles of Tabasco (it was his favorite) in that same windowsill, and he reported that it worked somewhat, but not as well as that mystery bottle.

TL;DR - No need to refrigerate hot sauce, and under the right conditions, may even be beneficial to leave it out. YMMV.

 

I don't refrigerate much of anything. The meat I eat for dinner is hung up for a week. some say I've got nasty habits.

 

But do you take tea at three?

 

Yes. I don't know whether it's necessary, but it's easier to find in the refrigerator than in the pantry.

 

YES ..........

 

If it’s high vinegar content, there’s no need to refrigerate.

 

And cool all that heat???

Seriously, once it's opened I do (mostly because my wife is worried that it will go bad if not refrigerated) but I know a lot of people who don't and they have no problems.

 

Haha, yeah he was a weird one for sure, but that's why he tasted just a dab to see if it was bad. I think at that point in the sauce's timeline, the vinegar was minor league in the flavor playoffs...