# Ketchup - To Refrigerate or Not to Refrigerate **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 17, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891 "2003-03-17T01:50:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891/21 "2003-03-17T21:51:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FaerieBeth \* > \*\* > > Mayo on your desk, **Khadaji**? Weird šŸ˜ƒ > \*\* I often get a sub out of the vending machine downstairs. The mayo that comes with it in the little packet is thin and has little flavor. So I keep a squeeze bottle at my desk. Every-damn-body I know tells me that I will soon die of food poisoning. But after four years, I have to assume that there is more to the risk then just keeping it in my desk. I assume it has to be exposed to bacteria. Since it is a squeeze bottle, it has a small opening and little chance of exposure. Since I squeeze and shut the bottle right away, even less chance. Or Iā€™m immune to food poisoning (but I know thatā€™s not true, since I had it from airline food last April.) ---
**Author:** ![FaerieBeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FaerieBeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FaerieBeth)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891/22 "2003-03-18T01:05:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Khadaji \* > **I often get a sub out of the vending machine downstairs. _snip_** This is supposed to make me feel better about the 4 year old mayo on your desk?:eek: Seriously, I am just always amazed at how some people do have stronger stomachs than others. The whole ā€˜ironā€™ stomach thing, I guess. And airline food? I donā€™t count that as being sensitive. Airline food is neither animal, vegetable, or mineral. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891/23 "2003-03-18T01:58:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FaerieBeth \* > \*\*This is supposed to make me feel better about the 4 year old mayo on your desk?:eek: > \*\* LOL. Naw, it isnā€™t the _same_ bottle. After all, I use it. Iā€™ve had several. So far, no problems. ---
**Author:** ![bjohn13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@bjohn13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bjohn13)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891/24 "2003-03-18T02:13:59Z")
Interestingly, restaurants rarely refrigerate their ketchup. The best policy I ever saw was a restaurant that dated the bottles. They had one of those refilling towers and they kept refilling the bottles until its shelf life was up. For unrefrigerated ketchup, the shelf life was seven days. For refrigerated ketchup, the shelf life was 18 months. As far as mayo goesā€¦I get sick when I think about eating fresh mayo. ---
**Author:** ![transdermal\_thinker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7cd45c/32.png) [@transdermal\_thinker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/transdermal_thinker)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891/25 "2003-03-18T04:03:47Z")
If you want to prevent mold on ketchup, store the bottle upside down. The mold is normally killed by the vinegar and salt, but when first introduced into the bottle, it can sit on the surface with just enough isolation to grow. When you turn the bottle upside down, the new spores are soaked in the brine and killed. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891/26 "2003-03-18T13:21:56Z")
I get all my ketchup out of packets. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891/27 "2003-03-18T14:07:53Z")
ā€¦about all kinds of things. Take TARTAR SAUCE-many restaurants leave this stuff out, at room temp.-all day! Now, mayannaise probably has enought acidity (from the vinegar) to keep the bacteria at bay-but is it really safe to let this stuff sit around so long? How about pickles-are they safe to eat (if not refridgerated)? My question is soaps and shampoos-we keep them in warm, moist surroundings (like bathroom showers) for long periods of time-can nast bugs breed in this stuff? How about those little packs of marmelade or jelly? Iā€™ve heard that a high concentration of sugar inhibits bacteria-but this stuff sits out for years! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891/28 "2003-03-18T14:23:13Z")
Pickles are _designed_ to be stored unrefrigerated; that is the whole point of pickling things (or it used to be). ---
**Author:** ![Kricket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f14d63/32.png) [@Kricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kricket)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891/29 "2003-03-18T15:23:53Z")
Ever seen a Ketchup bottle explode? Well, they do. When I was working at Fox and Hound. I was standing at the computer putting an order in and hear a loud pop from the cabinet below me. Damn near all the bottles had gone rancid from heat. That and who know how many times they had been married. Good thing we were so close to a grocery store and could send one of the prep cooks down the sidewalk to grab a few bottles for us for the night. As long as it was never put in the fridge and the seal hasnā€™t been broken then we store our condiments in the pantry. After anything has been opened it goes in the fridge. When I first met my hubby I got my butt chewed for putting tabasco sauce in the fridge. He says it lessens the spices, I say Iā€™d rather use more than have it go rancid and throw out half a bottle. And itā€™s funny but I know what they do to the bottles in resturants from working in quite a few, and I always think ā€œman Iā€™m never going to use resturant ketchupā€ But I always do. Never think about it when Iā€™m hungry and waiting for my food. ---
**Author:** ![Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bren_Cameron_1)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891/30 "2003-03-18T16:21:12Z")
Back when I was working in food service, I got myself a food safety certification. The instructor told us that commercially made mayo was acidic enough that you could leave it out and probably not get anything growing in it. Donā€™t try that trick with home-made mayo, though, or with commercially made mayo that youā€™ve mixed with anythingā€“it lowers the acidity. Most places Iā€™ve been that leave out tartar sauce and mayo have them iced down, either in a salad bar type thing, or in the cabinet where the pumps are. And every place that Iā€™ve ever worked left every non-mayo condiment on the shelf, not the refrigerator. But I grew up in a germ-phobic home, and nearly everything went in the refrigerator during my childhood. So ketchup is fridged in my house mainly as a matter of habit. (My mother is still incredulous that my butter doesnā€™t go badā€“it sits on the counter in a butter bell (wonderful thing!) and keeps for ages. She wonā€™t believe me, and wonā€™t taste the butter.) ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891/31 "2003-03-18T16:59:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FaerieBeth \* > \*\*My husband and I had to argue about the peanut butter. He won. Itā€™s in the pantry. \*\* Why would you keep peanut butter in the fridge? I keep ketchup and mayo in there, but never PB. It would get rock hard. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891/32 "2003-03-18T17:43:51Z")
I think many common condiments keep fairly well unrefrigerated if theyā€™re used quickly. But they should be refrigerated for longer storage. This would include ketchup, mustard, Tabasco, soy sauce, and vinaigrette salad dressing. I buy Tabasco in the 2 ounce bottles, and keep it next to the stove. I use it up in a few months. Iā€™ve noticed at other peopleā€™s houses that unrefrigerated Tabasco turns brown if kept too long. And I do refrigerate my ketchup. But I wouldnā€™t worry about it at busy restaurants. (I also can tast it if the ketchup has been married too many times. Iā€™ll ask for a fresh bottle.) ---
**Author:** ![FaerieBeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FaerieBeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FaerieBeth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891/33 "2003-03-19T00:43:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BiblioCat \* > \*\*Why would you keep peanut butter in the fridge? > I keep ketchup and mayo in there, but never PB. It would get rock hard. \*\* It gets so gooshy and greasy in the pantry! I just liked it cold better. It has a firmer feel. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891/34 "2023-06-29T00:39:08Z")
Twenty years laterā€¦ > **[Should ketchup be refrigerated? Heinz weighs in, triggering a social media...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/ketchup-refrigerated-heinz-settles-debate-214300905.html)** > > The brand's tweet tried to settle the debate over where to store your ketchup. Some users felt vindicated, while others expressed strong disagreement. [emphasis mine] > But now Heinz has weighed in. In a [tweet](https://twitter.com/HeinzUK/status/1673651138774589444?ftag=YHF4eb9d17) posted Tuesday, the brandā€™s UK account tried to settle the debate once and for all: **" FYI: Ketchup. goes. in. the. fridge!!!"** And: > ā€œThere was only ever one correct answer, and weā€™re happy to share with Heinz Tomato Ketchup lovers across the UK that our ketchup has to be in the fridge,ā€ a Heinz representative [told the Daily Mail.](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-12241991/Ketchup-stored-fridge-Heinz-reveal.html?ftag=YHF4eb9d17) ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2023, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891/35 "2023-06-29T12:16:50Z")
Refrigerator. In fact, I just checked and mine is expired! I live by myself and use it so rarely at home. Just looking through my recent delivery orders and itā€™s almost exclusively Mexican, Chinese, Thai or pizza. During Lent, I did make fries and frozen fish in the air fryer but I used malt vinegar for that type of homemade fish and chips. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ketchup-to-refrigerate-or-not-to-refrigerate/161891.md?page=1)