Cooling the food product to a temperature just above freezing in a refrigerator is generally required to slow the growth of these organisms. Feingold says vinegars and olive oil (stored in a cool, dark place) are pantry-bound; coconut oil is actually best kept out of the fridge since it hardens below room temperature. As long as your recipe doesn’t rely on tomato paste exclusively for thickening, ketchup will fill in for it just fine. Next, end the debate about where you’re supposed to store your butter. Tomatoes and vinegar, the main components in ketchup, help preserve the condiment at room temperature due to their natural acidity. Open it up and check for signs of spoilage (more on that later). What the experts say: There’s no need to keep ketchup in the fridge. All rights reserved. A: Because of its natural acidity, Heinz® Ketchup is shelf-stable. Here’s the Truth, I am not currently subscribed to PureWow.com, so please subscribe, I am already subscribed to PureWow.com, let me tell you the email address I used to subscribe, Please accept the terms and privacy statement by checking the box below. Sir Kensington's all-natural ketchup, meanwhile, has no preservatives, so the manufacturers recommend always storing an … Sign up for PureWow to get more daily discoveries sent straight to your inbox. Heinz says: Because it is a very acidic product, ketchup does not spoil easily. Advertisement. Check for spoilage signs before use and discard the ketchup if you’re in doubt. Refrigeration will maintain the best product quality after opening. “We always return the larger container immediately back to a refrigerator. It turns out that mostly depends on where in the product’s lifecycle you are. https://www.rd.com/article/does-ketchup-need-to-be-refrigerated Between all those burgers and hot dogs, we’ve been squirting ketchup on just about everything this summer. Sir Kensington’s all-natural ketchup, on the other hand, does not include preservatives. So even opened hot sauce bottles tend to last a long time simply in a cupboard – within reason. Here’s the sticky truth. In terms of safety, there’s no real need to refrigerate ketchup. Therefore, they recommend that an open bottle of their ketchup be stored in the refrigerator but should be discarded after two months. But, with continuous refrigeration, ketchup stays fresh for around 6 months. Homemade or low-quality ketchup may not have the preservatives (natural or otherwise) to hold its own in a room-temperature pantry. We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer) as we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. If chilled, however, an opened bottle of ketchup can last for up to six months, according to the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. However, its stability after opening can be affected by storage conditions. That doesn’t mean it’ll go bad after that period, but you might find the flavor of the sauce lacking heat or dull. The term refrigerate after opening is an instruction on commercial preserved food products to cool the container after it has been opened and the contents exposed to open air. The fancier the ingredients in a hot sauce (mustards, fruits, etc. Like, does mustard need to be refrigerated? Growing up, we kept a HUGE bottle … "Because of its natural acidity, Heinz Ketchup is shelf-stable," the company's website explains. Interestingly, your ketchup bottle is likely to advise that you keep it refrigerated once opened, though this is to ensure the very best taste more than anything. It’s also important to note that these rules apply to store-bought, grade-A ketchup. Once opened, in order to maintain the product's quality more effectively, we do suggest that ketchup (and any other processed food) be refrigerated after opening because refrigeration retards spoilage. Think about it. She lives and works in New York's Hudson Valley with her five small children. So, what gives? Even though it’s one of the 16 condiments that are secret health bombs, you can still indulge in healthier ketchups like this one. It’s a debate as old as, well, ketchup. One could argue that it would stay fresher longer if it were refrigerated, but really, it is fine stored at room temp and lasts a long time. The verdict: It depends. Verdict: You need to store open ketchup containers in the fridge, no ifs, ands, or burgers about it.