Why do ketchup bottles say "refrigerate after opening"?

[Very_Boring_Name]

My family has never, ever refrigerated ketchup, I can't stand cold ketchup, and we've never gotten sick. So why exactly do they put it on the label?

[bif]

1. Covering their butts.

We don't put ketchup or mustard in the fridge and have never gotten sick from it.

[Bunny]

2. I used to work in a restaurant and I was told that unrefrigerated ketchup would eventually spoil.

With all that vinegar in it, I can't imagine how it would spoil but that's what I was told. So I keep my ketchup in the fridge.

[Kali]

3. and the sugar (corn syrup)

good preservatives - one of the reasons ketchup was invented

I keep both in the fridge just because I try to keep the fridge as full as possibe for energy efficiency - on the rare occasions I have too much actual FOOD in there I pull things like ketchup, mustard, pickles back out

[Amerigo Vespucci]

11. There is a famous burger joint in Hayward CA, "Vals Burger"...

...that doesn't refrigerate ANY of the condiments...INCLUDING mayo.

Vals Burger (Burgers cuisine)

JaT Rating 9.5

2115 Kelly Street, Hayward, 94541 (Directions)

510.889.8257

There's definitely a nostalgic and homey feel to this diner that probably keeps people coming again and again. The burgers are fresh but I think it's odd that the condiments just sit out on the tables all day.



http://www.jatbar.com/reviews/Hayward/Vals_Burger.asp

[snooper2]

4. Why do they have signs that say open trench?

you ever see a closed trench? :rofl:

[Iggo]

5. Heeeeey, wait a minute.

As a matter of fact, I have NOT!

[InvisibleTouch]

6. You'd be surprised how many things DON'T need to be refrigerated.

My fridge died on me a few weeks ago. Can't afford to replace it, so I'm looking into alternative storage ideas. This time of year I can keep truly spoil-able foods out in the garage, but a lot of things that we normally store in the fridge (eggs, condiments, etc.), actually don't need it. Come Summer it'll be interesting, but for now I'm doing okay.

[lillypaddle]

8. I always thought eggs were dangerous

without refrigeration - they always say to be careful with things like potato salad that have eggs in it.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

10. not while eggs are in shell. once cooked they need refrigeration

[WinkyDink]

24. Watch out for any celery.

[blogslut]

15. Here's an idea

Take two large clay pots, one being small enough to nest inside the larger pot. Fill the space between the two pots with sand and water, then cover with a damp towel. The sand/water will pull heat away from the center pot and cool whatever is stored inside:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot-in-pot_refrigerator
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Pot-in-a-Pot-Refrigerator

[InvisibleTouch]

20. Yes! An evaporative cooler.

These can be built on a larger scale, too. If I'm still without a fridge once the weather warms up, I will definitely experiment with this. Would be nice to keep food cool without using electric power. Another step to getting off the grid.

[applegrove]

26. I only know that peanut butter needs to be refrigerated because otherwise

it develops a bacteria which is a carcinogen.

[kentauros]

7. Because what you're really supposed to do is

open the bottle, open your refrigerator door, place the bottle inside, close the door, open the door, and retrieve. Now you've properly conditioned your bottle and its contents with a little refrigeration and you're done! :P

[LynneSin]

9. I think because once you open the bottle there is a risk of bacteria getting in it

And at room temperature there's a better change of the bacteria growing.

[Lucian]

12. I'm guessing for liability purposes they put that on their label.

I always put it in the fridge when I'm done using it. :shrug:

I'm confused with how people leave butter on the counter, and they never get sick, yet butter is made of milk products. :wtf:

[MrCoffee]

18. I've always kept butter out (covered dish, in the cupboard), and never had a problem

Cold butter breaks the toast.

[Kali]

23. butter is mostly fat, with some salt in it

it generally gets used before it can go bad, and trust me if it went bad, you would know

think of the kinds of foods people had and used before refrigeration and hyper-germ-paranoia (yeah yeah I know, there was a lot of rotten food and people died from diarrhea, but that was mostly from the water)

[jobycom]

13. First, how the heck can anyone enjoy tepid ketchup? Second, ketchup can most definitely go bad.

It takes a while, but it does. You've never opened an old fast food packet of ketchup that has turned slightly brown? Nasty stuff. I don't know how toxic it is, but the taste is nasty. I've seen old bottles of ketchup get that way, too, but it seems to happen more quickly with the little packets. It can go bad in the fridge, too, but it goes bad faster out of it, even if it takes a while.

But back to the most important point. Warm ketchup? You MUST be from the north. I've never heard of such! :P It's the temperature contrast that forms half the appeal.

Also, refrigerating helps keep bugs out of it, although if you leave a bottle of ketchup out at a picnic and flies lay eggs in it, and then you refrigerate it, the eggs will stay in suspension until you leave it out to reach room temperature, at which time the larvae (maggots) will hatch, and if you've put that ketchup on, say, hot dogs at a gathering or something, everyone may discover that they are eating... well, unpleasant ketchup. Don't ask how I know this. Just trust me.

[Kali]

25. usually that brown ketchup is oxidized not rotten

as in spoiled by bacteria - same with say, a bottle of tequila or wine that has been opened and half finished - that rasty flavor after it sits around for a while is oxidation, not bacterial rot

[jobycom]

27. Bad is bad. nt

[DebJ]

30. Cold ketchup is nasty. I recently realized what I like about

McD's burgers is not the disgustingly greasy burgers, but the fact that the condiments are warm.

[Arkansas Granny]

14. Ketchup can go bad if it's not refrigerated. It kind of ferments when it does.

I've only had it happen once, but I've always stored it in the fridge since then.

[LiberalEsto]

16. Mine says "Glork" nt

[flvegan]

17. You mean "catsup"

:popcorn:

[Maru Kitteh]

19. You know that acrid, sweet-rotten smell arising from fast-food dumpsters on warm days?

There's your reason. A good deal of that smell is rotten ketchup.

[thirtiesgirl]

21. I assume they put it on the label...

because ketchup *can* go bad. Eventually. I usually do one of two things if I'm going to eat ketchup: one is put the amount of ketchup I need in a small bowl and microwave it for about 10 seconds to get it to approximately room temp. The second thing I do is take the bottle out of the fridge and leave it out for an hour or two before I use it, and put it back in the fridge when I'm done. My favorite burger joint leaves squeeze bottles of ketchup out on all their tables for the entire day. At closing time, they put them back in the fridge, and the ketchup is just fine the next day.

Sometimes, though, I love cold ketchup on hot fries. ...Actually now that I've written that... SOMETIMES?? No. Cold ketchup on hot fries is an all the time thing for me. One of my favorite things to eat, ever. If I was on death row, my last meal would hot fries with cold ketchup. And garlic salt. And maybe a bit of garlic mayo on the side, just in case I got bored with the ketchup.

Damn. My mouth is watering just writing that. :9

[femmocrat]

22. We never refrigerate it. It doesn't go bad because of the high acid content of the tomatoes.

We use it up before it turns brown and gunky, of course.

[Nikia]

28. It is ensures quality for a longer period of time

There is more to quality than food safety.

[Chan790]

32. ^^^^This.

Really this. That's all there is to it.

It preserves peak-flavor longer. Ketchup will spoil within 1 year approximately after opening, at room temperature. The flavor will begin to slowly degrade after only a couple of weeks though. Many restaurants refrigerate overnight to stretch it a bit but generally it gets used quickly enough to not matter. If it's not bright red anymore, it's past fresh.

For a home user, you should be refrigerating ketchup because you're just not going to use it quick enough. If you like/want-it room-temperature, pull it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you intend to use it.

(and if you care, approximately 70% of home ketchup consumption is of not-fresh ketchup, ~10% is spoiled (or oxidized) and <5% is outright rotten.)

[pinboy3niner]

29. If your ketchup bottles talk to you...

...the temperature of your condiments may not be the biggest thing you should be worrried about. :evilgrin:

[ashling]

31. I think you are hallucinating again ...

Has your mustard been asking for Grey Poupon?