--- title: These Are Condiments You Should and Shouldn't Refrigerate description: Here are five condiments you can keep in the cupboard, and four more you must move to your refrigerator. canonical: https://time.com/4666325/condiments-refrigerate/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-10T14:35:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:06:34.585Z article:section: Health og:title: These Are the Condiments You Should and Shouldn't Refrigerate og:description: From olive oil to peanut butter og:url: https://time.com/4666325/condiments-refrigerate/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69daab1daba6a94a/69887212a988ca8a966b5643/50-healthiest-foods-raw-peanut-butter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2100 og:image:height: 1181 og:image:alt: healthiest foods, health food, diet, nutrition, time.com stock, raw peanut butter og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Are the Condiments You Should and Shouldn't Refrigerate twitter:description: From olive oil to peanut butter twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69daab1daba6a94a/69887212a988ca8a966b5643/50-healthiest-foods-raw-peanut-butter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # These 5 Condiments Don't Need to Be Refrigerated > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=2c95bbb8-cefa-47b5-bdf3-33c1720e74d5&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Honey May Be a Natural Way to Beat Bacteria [Watch (HLS stream): Honey May Be a Natural Way to Beat Bacteria](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/W31iXlE4.m3u8) (0:55)  _Published 2016-09-28. In a lab, anyway_ by [Jillian Kramer / FWx](https://time.com/author/food-wine-2/) ## Jillian Kramer / FWx Feb 10, 2017 2:35 PM UTC  Danny Kim for TIME by [Jillian Kramer / FWx](https://time.com/author/food-wine-2/) ## Jillian Kramer / FWx Feb 10, 2017 2:35 PM UTC ICYMI, the Internet was abuzz this week in a great ketchup debate: whether the red stuff you slather on everything from burgers to fries should be refrigerated. The answer doesn’t seem to be totally straightforward: acidity, salt and sugar (which ketchup has) tend to keep things safe on the shelf, although salt reductions in ketchup recently mean you might want to refrigerate it. But luckily, how to store other condiments is much less confusing. Here are five you can keep in the cupboard, and four more you must move to your refrigerator. **In the pantry** **Butter:** Even though butter is technically a dairy product and we can all agree dairy should definitely be kept cold, the FDA makes an exception for butter. Why? Unlike its milk and cream relatives, butter is not a [Temperature Control for Safety (TCS) food](http://www.fda.gov/food/foodscienceresearch/safepracticesforfoodprocesses/ucm094159.htm), which means it can be eaten and stored safely at room temperature. **Olive oil:** This go-to cooking ingredient—and lovely complement to nuts, breads, and [even desserts](http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/7-ways-use-olive-oil-desserts)—last the exact same amount of time whether you keep it in your cupboard or in your refrigerator. (For the record[, it’s about 12 months](https://med.virginia.edu/ginutrition/wp-content/uploads/sites/199/2014/06/Parrish-Oct-15.pdf).) So we say keep it in a cool, dark place; it tastes better at room temperature anyway. **Hot sauce:** This pantry staple can stay put. There’s little risk in _not_ refrigerating hot sauce even after its opened, thanks to two key ingredients, vinegar and salt, which act as preservatives for up to [eight weeks after its opened](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2718301/Do-really-need-ketchup-fridge-And-jam-mayonnaise-pickle-The-answers-surprise-you.html). But if you want to extend its shelf life, you can keep hot sauce in the refrigerator for up to six months. **Honey:** Not only is this sweet syrup totally safe to eat straight from the pantry, but you could be making it [difficult to use if you put it in the refrigerator](https://www.honey.com/honey-at-home/tools-tips-and-resources/honey-usage-and-storage-tips/). As it cools, honey thickens—and it quickly becomes all-but-impossible to squirt out until it returns to room temperature once more. **Peanut butter:** With the exception of natural peanut butters, this nutty spread can be [safely kept in your cupboard](http://www.fda.gov/food/foodscienceresearch/safepracticesforfoodprocesses/ucm094159.htm) for up to three months after its opened. But beware: because peanut butter has few preservatives, it can easily degrade. One easy way to keep it in tip-top shape is to use a clean utensil every time you scoop from the jar. **In the fridge** **Mayonnaise:** You may buy mayonnaise off a non-refrigerated shelf, but the second you pop the top, you _must_ put it in the refrigerator. In fact, the [USDA recommends](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/fsis-content/internet/main/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/emergency-preparedness/keeping-food-safe-during-an-emergency/ct%5Findex) opened mayo be tossed in the trash if its temperature reaches 50 degrees or higher for more than eight hours. **Soy sauce:** If you’re reading Kikkoman’s on-the-bottle instructions, it’s best to move this salty product to your refrigerator once it’s opened. There, it can remain in its cool condition for [a good 2 years](http://www.eatbydate.com/other/condiments/how-long-does-soy-sauce-last-shelf-life/)—even though we _know_ you’ll use it faster than that. **Salad dressing:** It may be obvious to store creamy ranch dressing on your refrigerator’s shelf, but oily dressings such as Italian or a vinaigrette should be kept cold after opening too. That’s because their key ingredients—think things such as shallots and citrus juice—will go rancid without refrigeration. **Dijon Mustard:** You (probably) paid a pretty penny for the special spicy punch of Dijon mustard—and if you don’t put it in the refrigerator, you could, as mustard giant French’s says, [ruin its flavor profile](http://www.frenchs.com/faqs/frenchs-mustard-questions/). So while Dijon mustard won’t necessary spoil at room temperature, you’ll get more bang for your buck by keeping it in the fridge after it’s opened. _This_ [_article_](http://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/food/which-condiments-need-be-refrigerated) _originally appeared on_ [_FWx.com_](http://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4666325/condiments-refrigerate/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4666325/condiments-refrigerate/"},"headline":"These 5 Condiments Don't Need to Be Refrigerated","datePublished":"2017-02-10T14:35:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:06:34.585Z","description":"But these other four will spoil if they’re not.","url":"https://time.com/4666325/condiments-refrigerate/","keywords":["Food & Drink","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69daab1daba6a94a/69887212a988ca8a966b5643/50-healthiest-foods-raw-peanut-butter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jillian Kramer / FWx"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69daab1daba6a94a/69887212a988ca8a966b5643/50-healthiest-foods-raw-peanut-butter.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"healthiest foods, health food, diet, nutrition, time.com stock, raw peanut butter","caption":"healthiest foods, health food, diet, nutrition, time.com stock, raw peanut butter","creditText":"Danny Kim for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4666325/condiments-refrigerate/","name":"These 5 Condiments Don't Need to Be Refrigerated"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Should I Eat Butter?","description":"While few health experts would encourage you to eat more of it, 2.5 out of 5 experts gave butter the thumbs up.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/MlbiwnQ6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-17T22:04:16.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MlbiwnQ6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4666325/condiments-refrigerate/","duration":"PT1M46S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4666325/condiments-refrigerate/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Honey May Be a Natural Way to Beat Bacteria","description":"In a lab, anyway","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/W31iXlE4/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-09-28T17:21:51.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/W31iXlE4.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4666325/condiments-refrigerate/","duration":"PT55S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4666325/condiments-refrigerate/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```