Currently I have mayonnaise, mustard, a bottled caribbean marinade, soy sauce, bbq sauce, and several salad dressings in my fridge. Some of them have been in there a while.
How long do common condiments last in the refrigerator, once opened?
And for those of you with small families who don't use condiments much, do you just throw out half or three-quarters full bottles after a while?
I really wish condiments came in much smaller bottles/jars...
Emily Rugburn
Favorite Answer
The label on the mayonnaise in my fridge says it should be used within 2 months of opening. I expect the same goes for any mayonnaise-based salad dressing. Mustard keeps a long time, but won't be as tasty after about 3 weeks. The bottled marinades are usually filled with preservatives, because the companies know that people often have old sauces hanging around, and don't want people to get sick from them even if they are using them when they're too old. (But that doesn't mean you couldn't get sick from them, or that I recommend eating them)
I throw out a lot of condiments, but recently I've stopped buying so many, and choosing to buy 2 expensive sauces that I'll use up rather than 6 cheap ones that taste so boring I never use them again. Try buying a good balsamic vinegar, good olive oil (in both cases you get what you pay for), maybe a couple of your favourite fresh herbs in pots, maybe whole peppercorns in a mill, and sea salt, and use them for dressing salads and meats. Each of those ingredients can be used for lots of other purposes, and last indefinitely. And they are indefinitely yummier.
Anonymous
Each one should have a sell by date or best if used by date... I go through so much that It doesn't have a chance to go bad.
They should all be good for quite a while... the salad dressings will go bad first. I have soy sauce over a year old and it is still good.......
They should all be good a long time...... but... if you are worried........ mix some catsup....a little yellow mustard...bar-b-que sauce, the marinade, all together in a sauce pan... add 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp. garlic powder and 1 tsp ground black pepper.... Stirring constantly, cook on med-hi heat until thickened and bubbly...... Now you can divide this up into containers....you just made a really good bar-b-que sauce!
*** add some ground Cayenne or ground red pepper to spice it up more.
copper
These days, there should be a " Best if used by" date on things. If yours doesn't have this, it is probably old.
Yes, I find myself throwing out 1/2 empty bottles of stuff. My last and youngest child just left home 4 months ago, and I am having to get used to cooking smaller stuff. I buy the smallest bottles of the stuff that doesn't get used a lot. It costs more per ounce, but if I don't have to throw it out, it is worth it. Soy sauce, however will keep forever.