Is this vintage hot sauce safe to eat?

September 30, 2023 4:48 PM

An old bottle of Trinidad-style Hot Sauce (Scotch Bonnet, vinegar, garlic, & various things) has been in our fridge for several years (uh let's say at least five or so, used occasionally). It seems to smell and look like it should. Safe to use in moderation?
posted by ovvl to Food & Drink (8 answers total)

Best answer: I wouldn’t hesitate personally. Vinegar base? It probably has enough salt and acid that with refrigeration, it’s hard to see what could go wrong.
posted by toodleydoodley at 5:04 PM on September 30, 2023 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Yeah, I think that's fine. I have some scotch bonnet sauce that I made in the first year of the pandemic (fermented, and then cut with salt and vinegar) that I'm still working on and it's possible it's actually still improving.

For reference, Tabasco's peppers are aged "for up to three years," salted but unrefrigerated in oak barrels, before being mixed with vinegar. Presumably at Louisiana ambient temperatures. If you look at images of the aging warehouse the rafters are covered with cobwebs. Which is to say: I think you'll be just fine even if you consume this stuff immoderately.
posted by pullayup at 5:58 PM on September 30, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I would not hesitate to use that.
posted by wondermouse at 6:00 PM on September 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

I wouldn’t. I had one tiny bit of some old pickled jalapeño liquid (so, not hot sauce, but all the same ingredients unblended - vinegar, salt, garlic, peppers) and it tasted fine but made me violently ill.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 6:01 PM on September 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

I... uh... don't refrigerate opened hot sauce unless it's actually more of a pineapple or peach or other fruit based sauce that has some heat to it.

I admit, I rely on smell and texture for "should I eat this?" questions on hot sauce.
posted by erst at 7:10 PM on September 30, 2023

Sounds fine to me. I typically don't refrigerate hot sauces even if the label says that they should be refrigerated (because, you know, who likes to lower the temperature of their hot food by throwing a cold liquid on it?).
posted by alex1965 at 7:45 PM on September 30, 2023

I’ve kept hot sauces and pastes in the fridge for years without issue. Use with abandon.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:25 AM on October 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you everyone. I had some on the side and lived.
posted by ovvl at 9:12 AM on October 8, 2023