To think ketchup lives in the cupboard??

[puds11]

Not the bloody fridge! Just had to hunt it down in the kitchen for my turkey dinosaurs and it’s in the fridge!

YABU: should be in the fridge
YANBU: someone in your house needs talking to

DH will never again mock my excitement when my Which magazine arrives each month once he hears about this!

Only OH eats it but I've coerced him into putting it in the fridge for his own safety. At his parents they would keep it in the cupboard but then they got through at least a bottle every week.

My daughter went to a primary school in India. They found maggots in the ketchup that wasn't refrigerated. True story

I keep it in the fridge, but that's because it would take us about 6 months to get through a bottle. And because nothing beats cold ketchup on a a toasty chip shop chip

Restaurants don't keep theirs in the fridge, they're always on the table but presumably that's because they get used up a lot quicker than in a house.

Once it's open I put it in the fridge.

Ours lives in the sauce caddy on the table along with the HP and vinegar.
Everything else lives in the fridge... but that's only because I have more room in the fridge than in the cupboards. Before this house it all lived in the cupboard.

I've never seen a mouldy bottle of ketchup in my life. And think of all the cafes and pubs etc that have bottles of ketchup out on tables, they arent collecting them in each night I'll tell you. They're also probably refilling the glass heinz bottles from a massive catering size tub out back... this too is unlikely to be refrigerated or at least it wasnt when I worked in a well known chain pub.

If you read the packaging it states that it should be refrigerated after opening. I had this discussion with my DH shortly after we started dating and I won the debate because I made him read the packaging .

Fridge.It says chill after opened.

Here's a handy reference guide

My daughter went to a primary school in India. They found maggots in the ketchup that wasn't refrigerated. True story

I live in Ireland. The climate is quite different I assure you.

Do people put mustard in the fridge?

My mind is so blown.

Most cafes/ restaurants etc keep their bottles out on tables store on shelves ...

Thanks @DesLynamsMoustache - I keep mustards and pickles in the fridge (the items in their 'either' category) but follow the guide otherwise :)

@DesLynamsMoustache what about sweet chilli dipping sauce?

I’m with you OP, it’s bonkers to pour a cold sauce all over your hot dinner (or dip your hot food into a cold sauce for the more refined ).

Madness.

Des Does it say anything in that article about how long people are keeping things. I ignore all the 'once opened use within 8 weeks' type guidance but I do think that some of the things we have are open much longer than many people.

Our mustard is in the fridge, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's been open for five years or more because we just use things at a very slow rate. Somewhere between a few weeks and a few years, things have to go bad, and it probably happens more slowly in the fridge?

Depends how hot your kitchen is and how quickly you get through it.

I keep mine in the fridge as I use it slowly and kitchen can get hot.

Cupboard. It contains a lot of vinegar. Germs have no chance. Have always kept out in cupboard and it's as fresh every time we use it. My bottle actually says do NOT refrigerate.

It contains a lot of vinegar. Germs have no chance.

There are extremophiles ....

It says to keep in the fridge once opened on the bottle

Fridge!

@BarbaraofSeville Just some fairly vague advice on use by/best before, saying for the latter to just use your discretion as some dates are based on 'outdated policies'. Also home are now 4 degrees warmer on average than 1970 so some stuff won't keep as long as it would have done.

On the table. In a big yellow plastic beer bucket. All sauces, mayo, salt, pepper.

I don't need to worry about it going off because it gets eaten so quickly there's no chance of bacteria!!

Ketchup is a preservative. It contains sugar, salt and vinegar.