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teachingmyown
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| Posted: Nov 17 2009 at 4:50pm | IP Logged
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How do you decide when to pitch something labeled "refrigerate after opening" that has been left out for an extended period? Obviously, I am not talking about obvious things like milk. Two examples are barbecue sauce and minced garlic.
Dd found the jar of minced garlic in the pantry. We used it a few days ago and somehow it ended up in the pantry and not the fridge. It still looks and smells the same. Do I throw it out or is it probably okay?
The same thing keeps happening with the barbecue sauce that says to refrigerate. We keep the ketchup and some other condiments in the pantry, so the kids often stick the barbecue sauce in there, too. We have tossed a few bottles which seems so wasteful.
What do you all think?
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Bridget
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I would keep the garlic. It has many naturally occurring antibacterial properties. Plus if your cooking with it, you'll with it, the heat will kill anything.
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stefoodie
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| Posted: Nov 17 2009 at 5:14pm | IP Logged
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most barbecue sauces will have vinegar and that should keep it safe for a while, esp. if it's one of the main ingredients.
agree with bridget on the garlic.
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teachingmyown
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Thanks! It's a crime to waste garlic!
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Molly
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DianaC
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I also would think the garlic is fine - unless left out in warm weather.
Ketchup is "refrigerate after opening" too, so if you've had good luck keeping it in the pantry, then the barbecue sauce should be the same.
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CrunchyMom
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Let your nose be your guide and check for mold. If it smells fine (if something is bad it will generally turn your stomach) and isn't fuzzy, I say its likely fine.
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Willa
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I usually keep using things like that but just try to make sure I use the item only in cooked things. I figure the cooking will be hard on any microbes that the item might be harboring.
I remember the days when we kept ketchup and BBQ sauce in the cupboard  -- when I was growing up.
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folklaur
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i'm a tosser. i have way too irritable insides to take any chances. i toss if it has been left out overnite - a few days in the pantry, i would definitely toss.
but i know i am extreme in this regard, so it is probably better to listen to everyone else! 
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crusermom
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If my husband wasn't watching and it smelled and looked ok, I would put it back in the fridge. Oh, gee....I hope he doesn't read this.
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Paula in MN
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crusermom wrote:
| If my husband wasn't watching and it smelled and looked ok, I would put it back in the fridge. Oh, gee....I hope he doesn't read this. |
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Bookswithtea
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OK, so what would you do if the ranch dressing got left out? My kids did this the other day.  Its also "refrigerate after opening", but I wonder if its as safe as ketchup.
I don't worry much about ketchup, to be honest with you. We buy a huge bulk bottle that we use to fill a smaller bottle. Never really thought about it before, but the bulk bottle is always in the pantry, even though our daily use ketchup bottle is in the fridge. 
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hylabrook1
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Does the ranch dressing have buttermilk as one of the ingredients? Even if it doesn't, that one strikes me as a *tosser*.
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DianaC
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I would definitely get rid of anything left out that had milk or mayonnaise in it - so the ranch dressing would have to go.
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marihalojen
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Mayo used to be a pantry item and still is among most cruisers...just use a clean knife or spoon each time.
There is sooo many preservatives in all your basic foods I don't think most things will ever go bad in a thousand years! Now, if you're talking homemade or maybe organic with no preservatives that'd be a different story!
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JodieLyn
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plain mayo can be left out.. but once it's mixed with anything then it can go bad quickly.. just like Jennifer said.. use a clean knife or spoon in it.. or just moving the knife back and forth may introduce something to the mayo.
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Cay Gibson
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A guy my husband works with said his wife (who is a health inspector for restaurants) said that one of the worse things contributing to food poisoning is garlic in little jars. People should always use fresh garlic.
Not debating what Bridget wrote. i really don't know. That's just what I was told.
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teachingmyown
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Ketchup doesn't say to refrigerate, so we don't. Apparently, mustard doesn't need to be either. We buy huge containers of both and refill small containers for the fridge.
I never would have imagined that mayo could stay out. I thought that was the big one that needed to be refrigerated.
Cay- interesting about the minced garlic. I will have to look that up. We use it because it is just so much quicker and easier and still just as flavorful. Dh likes it because I use more when we buy it like that.
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Molly
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stefoodie
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re the garlic -- AFAIK it's a concern if you're putting raw garlic in OIL -- something about toxin buildup. but in water or vinegar is fine. i use fresh garlic anyway, but i do have a spicy vinegar mix that i use -- it's got chilies, garlic, ginger, lemongrass... potent stuff. 
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JodieLyn
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I know it sounds weird Molly.. it's the mixing with other things that causes problems with mayo. I wouldn't chance leaving it out at home simply because I know someone would "double dip" a knife or such and so it's highly unlikely to stay without something getting into it.
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: Nov 18 2009 at 10:57am | IP Logged
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At the church I worked at many years ago, the cook always left the salad dressing on the lazy susan. It was never refrigerated. I always refrigerate mine though.
teachingmyown wrote:
| Apparently, mustard doesn't need to be either....I never would have imagined that mayo could stay out. |
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For a long time people were saying to be careful w/ mayo, that it could give you food poisoning if left out. Recently I heard it wasn't the mayo but the mustard that was the villian. I'm not sure they really know for sure.
teachingmyown wrote:
We use it because it is just so much quicker and easier and still just as flavorful. Dh likes it because I use more when we buy it like that.
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I use the jar kind too, Molly. I am just a little more conscious of putting it in the frig.
DianaC wrote:
| I also would think the garlic is fine - unless left out in warm weather. |
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Perhaps that's why the health inspector said this. Our weather is very warm down here. Makes sense...
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Topic: Perishables left out
