Does Sriracha Go Bad: Sriracha sauce is one of the most common types of hot sauces you find in any restaurant and arguably can make any savory breakfast better. Sriracha is also sometimes called rooster sauce because of the rooster that is present on the labels of most of its brands.
Sriracha is a very common component of fast foods used as cooking ingredients in many dishes and is generally a chilly-based sauce made up of ingredients like chili peppers, sugar, salt, and distilled vinegar.
Apart from all of this information, you must be thinking does sriracha go bad? Come, let’s learn more on this topic and also understand the shelf life and storage techniques best for Sriracha sauces.
- Does Sriracha Sauce Go Bad If Not Refrigerated?
- Does Homemade Sriracha Sauce Go Bad?
- How Long Does Sriracha Sauce Last?
- How To Store Sriracha Sauce Properly?
- How Do You Know If Sriracha Sauce Is Bad?
- Is It Bad To Eat Expired Sriracha?
- Is expired sriracha OK to eat?
- How long is sriracha good after the expiration date?
- How long can you keep sriracha after opening?
- What does expired sriracha look like?
Does Sriracha Sauce Go Bad If Not Refrigerated?
No, Sriracha sauce can stay good even if not refrigerated because of its ingredients which are pretty resistant to bacterial growth that cause the food to become unsafe and ultimately spoil. Ingredients like chili peppers have antimicrobial properties that can inhibit the growth of decomposing micro-organisms. Distilled vinegar including Ecoli is pretty good in preventing food-borne bacteria.
Sriracha sauce doesn’t really expire if you have kept it unrefrigerated for quite a few months then it may happen that the taste or look might slightly change when you open the bottle. Every bottle of Sriracha sauce comes with a best-before date past which it is recommended to be refrigerated to keep its vibrant red color and authentic aroma intact.
Does Homemade Sriracha Sauce Go Bad?
Yes, homemade Sriracha sauce can potentially go bad with time because its shelf life is naturally shorter. This is because it has only Vinegar and salt as its preservatives, unlike the store-bought ones that have way more added preservatives. Homemade Sriracha sauces must be stored inside the refrigerator to be able to use safely for the next 4 to 6 months.
Make sure you transfer your Sriracha sauce to a plastic bottle with a nozzle to keep the sauce inside untouched. This will allow you to easily use the sauce the next time without the risk of accidentally mixing food particles or other foreign particles into it while using a spoon or any other means.
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How Long Does Sriracha Sauce Last?
Sriracha sauce stays good for an insanely long amount of time because of which many companies don’t even bother to put an expiry date on the bottles. The capsaicin present in the peppers keeps your Sriracha sauce and other related hot sauces safe from spoiling for up to a solid three years.
As time passes you will notice that the flavors in your Sriracha sauce have become hotter as the ingredients combine more giving it a stronger taste while keeping its safety intact. Once you have opened your bottle of Sriracha sauce it easily keeps its quality fresh for half a year at room temperature and more than a year if refrigerated. Though your sriracha sauce will stay good for a long time it can eventually degrade in taste till the time when you will actually get disappointed and discard it on your own.
Additionally, if your sriracha has been kept for 4 to 5 years past its best-by date it is always recommended to discard it. Now, let’s see a chart that shows the time being after which Sriracha sauce will start degrading in quality:
| Category | Pantry or kitchen cabinet | Refrigerator |
| Unopened Sriracha sauce | Best- by + 2-3 years | 5 years |
| Opened Sriracha sauce | 7-9 months | 2- 3 year |
| Homemade Sriracha sauce | – | 4-6 months |
How To Store Sriracha Sauce Properly?
While storing your bottle of Sriracha sauce, there are some storage tips that you need to pay attention to, in order to keep your sauce good and safe for a long. Here they are:
- Your bottle of sriracha sauce must be kept in a dark place, away from direct sunlight or high temperatures that can penetrate the bottle and degrade the quality of the sauce.
- Try to store your bottle in a non-humid area so that your sauce does not go to damp or oxidize due to excessive exposure to moisture and air.
- Once you have opened your bottle of store-bought sriracha or have homemade sriracha sauce ready, then it must be placed in the refrigerator to retain its quality for a long period of time.
- You must maintain proper hygiene while using the bottle and be extra careful with the lead. If your sauce gets contaminated from the lid then bacterial growth will start forming on it.
- Make sure you never put your leftover sriracha where you have dipped your food back into the bottle. This leftover sauce which is already contaminated and exposed to air will degrade the rest of the sauce too if poured back.
- Lastly, make sure that you close the lid of the bottle tightly and always shake the bottle before use to ensure that all the ingredients have mixed properly instead of getting settled up at the bottom and air bubbles if any, have left which can potentially dry out your sauce.
Find out Does Oyster Sauce Go Bad or not by going through the quick guide and clearing all your concerns on shelf life, and storage practices.
How Do You Know If Sriracha Sauce Is Bad?
Even though Sriracha sauce is a pretty long-lasting condiment it can go bad if you have kept it unhygienically for an excessively long amount of time. In such a case it may not degrade that much in terms of food safety but it will become inedible. Some of the signs that you can search for in order to know whether your Sriracha sauce has gone bad or not are:
- Mold or any other organic growth present on the surface – Moldy Sriracha is something that happens very rarely, so if yours is, discard it.
- Unusual change of texture- If you see your Sriracha sauce has completely separated its water content or has become too stiff for you to pour, then it has gone bad.
- Pungent or no aroma- If your Sriracha is giving a putrid or fermented smell instead of the regular fresh, spicy-savory one, then it has probably decomposed, discard it.
- Weird taste- If all of the above signs are not present and you are still doubtful, try taking a small amount and tasting it a bit. If the flavor is sour or unusually bad, it’s time for it to go.
- Swollen bottle- If you find any unusual change in the shape of the bottle and the bottle is looking a little bit more swollen or dented than before, then the sauce inside has probably met with a chemical reaction making it unsafe to consume it now.
Is It Bad To Eat Expired Sriracha?
No, as mentioned before sriracha doesn’t really expire that badly. It can at most taste a little bit off if it has been kept for too much time beyond its expiration date. Consuming expired sriracha will be safe in terms of food quality and health but might taste a little off to you in comparison to its original flavor during the first six months.
But, if you have consumed sriracha which already has mold or aging yeast developed on it then you might show up some symptoms of gastroenteritis and food poisoning. You may experience vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea in the worst case, so take immediate medical precautions just after that. However, children, pregnant or breastfeeding ladies, and old persons and not recommended to eat expired Sriracha.
FAQs on Does Sriracha Go Bad
1. Is expired sriracha OK to eat?
Expired Sriracha sauce is safe to consume until it has started to develop mold or aging yeast on it. Pregnant or breastfeeding ladies, childer, and older people must not eat expired Sriracha.
2. How long is sriracha good after the expiration date?
Sriracha sauce stays good straight for up to 3 years even if the expiration date has crossed owing to the presence of vinegar and chillis in it. To retain its quality further, you can also refrigerate it.
3. How long can you keep sriracha after opening?
Sriracha sauce, if opened, stays pretty good for up to 3 years at room temperature and up to 4-5 years inside the refrigerator.
4. What does expired sriracha look like?
Expired Sriracha sauce is expected to have a darker color and stiffer consistency. If it has crossed too much time beyond the expiry date and has gone bad then it might also have mold on the surface, a pungent smell, and a bitter taste.
Conclusion
Store-bought sriracha sauces have an extra set of preservatives added that will last you for an insanely long amount of time. But, in the case of homemade sauces, you must be a little bit more careful because the only preservatives that you’re using are vinegar and salt which can keep your sauce intact for 4 to 6 months only that too only if stored inside the refrigerator. Hope this article on Does Sriracha Go Bad was helpful to you by all means. For more such food-related information articles stay tuned.