The last time you went to a Chinese restaurant, you may have seen a bottle of soy sauce sitting on the table. Did you think about how long it had been there? Did you wonder whether it should have been refrigerated?
Soy sauce does not need to be refrigerated after opening. It does not spoil at room temperature because it has been fermented and because it contains a high sodium content. However, after some time, the quality may deteriorate if it is not refrigerated.
According to Kikkoman, a major manufacturer of soy sauce, your soy sauce won’t spoil if you leave it out on the counter or table. However, if it is not refrigerated, it may lose its flavor over time.
Soy sauce was developed in China around 2,000 years ago and has become a key ingredient in Asia cooking and a popular condiment around the world.
Soy sauce typically has just four ingredients: soybeans, wheat, water, and salt. The taste may vary slightly depending on the recipe and the fermentation process.
Each brand has its own way of making soy sauce, but the usual way involves mashing the beans and wheat together to form a paste. Then, mold cultures such as Aspergillus oryzae and other microbes are added to start the fermentation process.
After a few days, water and salt are added, and the fermentation process continues for an average of 6 to 8 months. Following fermentation, the paste is pressed to extract the sauce.
The soy sauce is then pasteurized and bottled.
Added together, the high salt content, fermentation, and pasteurization means that soy sauce will remain good enough to eat when kept at room temperature. It can stay tasty for up to a year.
That explains why the soy sauce at Chinese restaurants tastes perfectly fine—the bottle gets used up pretty quickly. At home, you may not use soy sauce that often, so you might want to keep it in the fridge.
What’s The Best Way To Store Soy Sauce?
So, how do you decide whether to keep the soy sauce at room temperature or refrigerate it? Does it make a difference how you store it?
The best way to store soy sauce depends on how frequently you use it. If you use it several times a week, you can keep it on your table or counter just like salt and pepper. Otherwise, it will taste better if you keep it refrigerated between uses.
After it’s opened, store soy sauce in its original bottle, and screw on the lid tightly. Soy sauce can get moldy if it’s not sealed properly and contaminants enter the bottle.
Kikkoman also advises that you never should add water or other ingredients to the soy sauce before you store it. Presumably, these ingredients may degrade and cause the soy sauce to go bad.
Kamada, another soy sauce manufacturer, recommends that you store soy sauce in a “cool, dark place” whether it’s opened or unopened.
That means if you choose not to refrigerate it, take care to keep the soy sauce away from the stove or other source of heat. A cabinet or pantry might be ideal.
Although you can store soy sauce at room temperature, you should consider what “room temperature” may be in your house. During a hot summer, if your house is not air-conditioned, room temperature may be uncomfortably hot for you and not so good for the soy sauce.
Like Kikkoman, Kamada recommends that you refrigerate your soy sauce in order to maintain the highest quality flavor. The bottle is slim and won’t take up much room in your fridge.
It isn’t necessary to freeze soy sauce, and given its high salt content, it may not freeze at all. You can store it in the refrigerator for a couple of years
Can Soy Sauce Go Bad?
Most soy sauces don’t have any preservatives, but their fermented state means it isn’t going to spoil, break down, or become unsafe to consume. The worst that will happen is that it will lose flavor as it gets older.
However, you may sometimes notice white particles floating on the surface of the soy sauce or on the side of the bottle. Don’t worry; these particles aren’t mold, and the soy sauce is still safe to eat.
The white substance is a type of yeast called film yeast. It won’t give you food poisoning, but it might change the smell or taste of the soy sauce.
You can safely skim off the film yeast, and the soy sauce will be just fine.
To deter the growth of film yeast, some brands of soy sauce add a bit of alcohol.
How Can You Tell If Soy Sauce Has Gone Bad?
Nothing keeps indefinitely, and soy sauce is no exception. Eventually, it just won’t taste the same. How can you tell when that happens?
Over time, soy sauce will deteriorate in flavor, color, and texture. If you haven’t used your bottle of soy sauce in a long time, it might be a good idea to sample it before pouring it on your food.
While old soy sauce won’t make you sick, it might ruin the flavor of your recipe or make your fried rice taste bad. With that in mind, there are some things you can do to evaluate whether your soy sauce still tastes as it should.
First, visually inspect the soy sauce. If the color looks very darker than it should, it could be past its prime.
Next, open the bottle and take a sniff. A weird or bad smell is another sign of quality deterioration.
Ultimately, the only sure way you can tell if soy sauce is still good is by tasting it. An old soy sauce will taste strong or acidic.
If the soy sauce still seems flavorful to you, it’s fine to use it. If not, throw it out.
How Long After Its Expiration Date Can Soy Sauce Be Used?
It might be easier to evaluate the quality of your soy sauce if you had an expiration date to go by. However, most soy sauces don’t place expiration dates on the label.
Most brands will place a best-by date on the label. This date indicates an approximate date after which the flavor may start to decline in quality.
However, the best-by date is just the manufacturer’s guess. The flavor loss is gradual and depends on a number of factors, such as how you store the soy sauce and whether you have exposed it to high temperatures.
As it ages, the soy sauce will become darker in color and stronger in flavor. The point where this becomes unpleasant could be a matter of personal taste.
Keeping the soy sauce in a refrigerator will prolong the flavor. Soy sauce could stay fresh for up to two years in the fridge.
Do Soy Sauce Packets Need To Be Refrigerated?
You have some leftover soy sauce packets from a Chinese restaurant take-out. Do you need to refrigerate them? How long will they last?
Those little soy sauce packets contain the same product that you can buy in a bottle, though some brands may have artificial colors and flavors added. A few also have preservatives, which means they don’t need to be refrigerated.
In fact, when the packets are unopened, they may last longer than bottled sauce. About two or three years is a reasonable estimate.
Soy sauce packets usually don’t have expiration dates on them. This might concern you if you find a stash of soy sauce packets in the back of your fridge.
If you’re not sure how old the soy sauce packets are, conduct the same inspection that you would for bottled sauce. Open the packet, look at the sauce, smell it, and taste it.
Like bottled sauce, the soy sauce packets may stay fresher if you put them in the refrigerator.