The Right Way To Store Hot Sauce

Have you ever wondered what the right way to store hot sauce is? I did — especially after recently finding a year-old bottle of sriracha tucked away in a cabinet. As a cookbook author, I have brave taste buds, and luckily for me, that bottle was still good. It turns out that vinegar-based hot sauces, or those with higher acidity, won't spoil quickly if you store them at room temperature, away from the sun. The acidity in the hot sauce serves to prohibit mold and bacterial growth. With that said, my one-year-old bottle of sriracha looked darker, thanks to oxidation over time, and while it wasn't spoiled, it did taste a little less fresh. 

When you grab hot sauce from a grocery store or supermarket, make a mental note of where it's stored. Is it on a shelf at room temperature, or did you find it in a refrigerated section? Most likely, you will find vinegar-based hot sauces, like Tabasco, Cholula, and Sriracha, stored at room temperature. Be sure to also check the label on the hot sauce. It should have instructions on how to store that bottle, jar, or tub after opening. Sometimes, it can be confusing. For example, I usually find gochujang stored at room temperature in my local Asian supermarkets. When unopened, gochujang, like miso, tends to be shelf-stable. But once you open gochujang, like other fermented foods, you should refrigerate it.

With all that said, certain hot sauces should be refrigerated at all times. If the hot sauce is made with fruit, has high water content, and lacks vinegar or other acidity to stabilize it, it's best to always keep it in the refrigerator. This is especially true for any hot sauce you make at home because you probably didn't add any preservatives to it.

Additionally, with all hot sauces, regardless of whether it's acidic, fermented, or has high water content, refrigerating it after opening really won't hurt. Not only does refrigeration slow bacteria and mold growth, but it can also keep your hot sauces tasting fresh for a longer period of time. Who doesn't want that?

If all this talk about spicy sauces has you craving some heat, consider taking your spicy marinades to the next level with hot sauce blends. If you're itching to make some hot sauce at home, try our easy sweet chili sauce recipe. Just be sure to refrigerate it when you're not using it.