Growing up my friend’s mom always kept her ketchup in her pantry, even after it was opened. My parents always kept ours in the fridge, even before it was opened. I always thought this was strange. And I still ponder the difference.
Does it matter? Sometimes fridge space is scarce.
It turns out most Canadians are divided on the issue, and on a lot of other foods.
A recent survey of 1,000 Canadians by a food box company, showed 84 per cent of people keep their ketchup in the fridge while 16 per cent do not.
It seems like even the experts are divided on the topic.
The guidelines at FoodSafety.gov state that shelf-stable products such as ketchup will benefit from being stored in the fridge.
"Refrigeration ensures that commercial sauces and condiments stay fresh for a longer period of time."
A food safety consulting service told The Guardian that while it's unlikely anyone would get sick after eating room-temperature ketchup, the condiment holds up better when kept cold.
“You're not going to have pathogens grow in room-temperature ketchup, though some mould could grow there,” one person said.
Ketchup is made with things such as acid, salt, and added sugar, which all work as preservatives.
So I guess it really matters on how long you keep ketchup for. It doesn’t last long in my house as my children love it. (I much prefer mustard.) But if it is going to stick around in your house, best to throw it in the fridge.
While researching this topic further, I looked into the ingredients in the popular condiment. Apparently, it is only tomato paste, liquid sugar, white vinegar, salt, onion powder, spices.
I thought that it seems simple, and maybe I can make it myself with slightly less sugar because my children love it so much.
It was an epic fail. I mean, I didn’t mind it but it didn’t taste like the bottled stuff from the store. It was also slightly more watery so my children did not like it.
Compared to other condiments, one tablespoon of ketchup contains nearly twice as many calories as mustard but fewer than a fourth of the number of calories mayonnaise contains. So I suppose my children could have a worse favourite condiment?
Also, this is my new parenting style. I am sure I am doing fine. Things could always be worse.
