Despite being opened, extracts like vanilla or almond should not be kept in the refrigerator; instead, they should be kept at room temperature, away from heat and light.
It turns out that some foods may end up in your pantry when they should actually be in your refrigerator, so it’s important to identify the items you might be storing incorrectly. “Never challenge nature, and store products correctly as soon as you buy or harvest them.” One of the first things you do when you get home from the grocery store is to put away the foods that live in the refrigerator. Eggs, milk, and butter are quickly put back into the chill to ensure safety and increase longevity.
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Foods You Should Always Store in The Refrigerator
Hot Sauce
The category of hot sauce is broad. The ingredients used to make the hot sauce and how soon you intend to use it will determine how you preserve it. It must be kept in the refrigerator if it contains cream or eggs, as some handmade spicy sauces do. While keeping other hot sauces, even those produced with vinegar, in your pantry is probably not going to cause any problems with food safety, you should keep your favorite hot sauce in the refrigerator after opening it to maintain its flavor and keep it from going bad. Unless they are fermented or have a lot of salt, hot sauces can go bad after a month or two.
Ketchup
Whether or not to store ketchup in the refrigerator after it has been opened is a topic of much discussion. “It is best to keep it refrigerated after opening because ketchup contains sugar and the acidity isn’t so high that it prevents the growth of spoilage microorganisms,” he says, adding that there is little chance that ketchup will harbor harmful microorganisms if it is stored at room temperature. Mold and yeast may quickly enter ketchup, changing its flavor.
Maple Syrup
Since maple syrup has no preservatives, it should be kept in the refrigerator after opening. The water concentration is high enough for yeasts to thrive and ruin the syrup. Even when the syrup is refrigerated, sugar may crystallize around the neck of the container. This is not a symptom of spoiling, but it may make opening the bottle more difficult.
Mustard
Keep mustard at room temperature if you want to eat it within a month or so after opening a jar. If not, keep it in the refrigerator. Since mustard has less sugar than ketchup, it can be stored outside of the refrigerator for one to two months before going bad. Like with other items, storing mustard in the refrigerator will also preserve its quality.
Seeds and Nuts
Because of their increased oil content, nuts and seeds can get rancid more quickly at room temperature. If you use them up quickly, store them in a cool, dark location, such as your pantry; if not, store them in the refrigerator or freezer for longer-term storage to maintain freshness. Keep in mind that unshelled, whole nuts will keep longer than chopped, shelled ones.
Nut Butters
Unopened nut butter can be kept at room temperature, regardless of whether you prefer peanut or almond butter. Particularly with natural nut butters (those without additional preservatives), the oil may begin to separate and become rancid after it is opened.
Don’t worry if you have an open jar in your cupboard; unless it has been there for months, there’s no reason to throw it out. Most natural nut butter can be stored in a pantry for up to a month after they are opened, while nut butter that contain preservatives can be kept for two to three months without refrigeration.
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