Watch: How To Keep Your Condiments Fresh? Know Which Ones To Refrigerate

Condiments are widely used as food enhancers (mostly after cooking) to better the flavour, texture and colour of the dish. It can be a spice, a pickle, a sauce or dip, or dressing that can accompany your meals for that extra punch. Can you imagine eating your burger or fries without the tangy tomato sauce or would you like your salad without a dressing? This is how important condiments are to help us have a better food experience.

That's why our kitchen is stocked with different kinds of condiments. Although we use each condiment sparingly, since we eat a variety of foods per day, we still like to have a stash of all kinds of sauces and other food accompaniments, for whenever we need them. We either line them all together in our kitchen cabinet or throw them in the refrigerator. We must know which ones are really needed to be refrigerated to keep them good for a long time.)

(Also Read: 10 Foods You Should Never Store in the Fridge)

Condiments That Must Be Refrigerated:

Ketchup is too acidic for bacteria to grow. Nevertheless, you should refrigerate it to be safe.
You can increase the shelf life of mustard sauce for up to a year by refrigerating it.

Mayonnaise is made up of eggs so it is important to store it in your fridge to keep bacteria at bay. Jams and jellies can stay good for up to a month. Beyond that, you need to refrigerate it to prevent bacterial growth.

Butter has a shelf life of 10 days. You can keep it out in room temperature for these many days, after which it is advisable to shift it in the fridge if not yet consumed.

Salad dressing should be stored in the refrigerator right from the start. The contents of all kinds of dressings can turn rancid if kept out for too long.

These are some of the most common condiments that we use regularly in our meals. Now you know how to store them too.