I am pretty sure my grandparents had the same bottle for 20 years sat on a shelf in the cabinet never seemed to go bad

 

You should buy Frank's Red Hot, I eat that **** on everything!!!

Frank's is really good though. I think that stuff will keep for a looooong time. I have had some Tabasco that I know was 5 years old and you can't tell the difference.

 

Franks is great and I also use tabasco sauce on lots of things too.
I found out from some chef type people that the way to store it and keep it from turning color and taste is to store it NOT in the frig but in a cabinet.
Suprisingly that works real well, holds up a lot better.

 

Dont use Tabasco, but I keep my hotsauce on top of the stove after opening it
and it lasts for months. I would think it would last for years in a cool dark pantry. Once had a big bottle of Cholula on the stove top for close to a year with no ill effects. Cant see much going wrong with salt, vinegar & peppers?

 

It depends on the Tabasco. Original Tabasco is just vinegar, red peppers and salt. It will literally last forever, especially sealed away in a bottle. The expiration date is just a suggestion. I know at least one or two of the varieties contain other ingredients that may or may not last as long.

 

We use to have a big bottle of Tabasco at a hunting club I was in and we used it year after year with no ill effects.....no telling how many years...no temp control winter or summer...just sat on the shelf.

 

Tabasco last without refrigeration for years. It's basically vinegar and salt, both strong preservatives. Heat is really the only thing I've seen effect it. And even then, it's still completely safe to eat, it just changes color and taste.

 

Tabasco last without refrigeration for years. It's basically vinegar and salt, both strong preservatives. Heat is really the only thing I've seen effect it. And even then, it's still completely safe to eat, it just changes color and taste.

I have kept it for years and years. It thins and separates, but shake it good and have at it.

I like Tabasco and Louisiana Hot Sauce too. Make bland food edible and edible food better. That reminds me, need about 6 bottles for the closet stash. :thumb:

 

If you like Tabasco, as I do, it's a great thing to have in your pantry.

and if you're going to end up eating freeze-dried, dehydrated, recontituted rations at your BoL, every little "flavor helper", like a rack of spices, is going to help.

 

If you dont mind a suggestion, store 1 gallon plastic jugs of vinegar. Then when you plant some of your habeneros from your heirloom seeds, just toss them in a food processor (or grind in the event of no electricity) throw in some salt and you have much better hot sauce than any of those store bought bottles.

 

Thanks for all the responses! I was kinda hoping it would last forever as it will take me awhile to use it all up. Also the 2 tabasco pepper plants i have this year are loaded up and starting to kick out tabascos, guess i need to try my hand at making some homegrown sauce as well!

 

The real way to make tabasco...



The real process is to rough grind the peppers, add brine, and let this mix undergo lactic fermentation which takes months to years. this stuff is then pureed for a couple of days, then diluted with vinegar and bottled. you can make hot sauce the quick way by dumping peppers in vinegar but it won't have that tabasco twang.

pretty good stuff for something made on a rat farm.

 

i stock up on hot sauce, mustard, ketchup,etc last longer than the cheap plastic bottle it comes in. glass would be better

 

There is a reason Tabasco was chosen way back when for the early MRE's. A mini bottle in those made some pretty bad meals pretty good! We used to store them in our conexes with no cooling and they were awesome to have. I keep a case around the house to help eat some of my preps.

:thumb:

 

Early MRE's? I've been off active duty for about 15 years, but the little bottles were still in there at that time. Are they not in there anymore? That was the only thing that made that crap taste somewhat like food.

 

Get one bottle of Dave's Ultimate Insanity. I've used one bottle for 7 years in chili, jerky, baked beans, HM BBQ sauce and it will trash an entire gallon of food if not measured in drops rather than teaspoons. With refrigeration, this bottle is less than half consumed in those 7 years.

 

But don't leave it out of the frig once you open it. It will get explosive, where as tabasco or other vineger and pepper hot sauses won't.

Biker

 

Tabasco peppers are mixed with salt, packed in oak barrels and allowed to ferment for 3 years and then they just strain the thicker solids out. I mean, how can it go bad if it has already rotted? :

Dont believe me?

http://www.tabasco.com/tabasco-products/how-its-made/making-original-tabasco-sauce/

 

I buy it in bulk and it may take me 5 years to go through a case because I also use a lot of Salsa and Picante sauces, hot peppers pickled and plain and spices. Only thing I have ever go bad on me are jars of Salsa or Picante if I take to long to use them up after they have been opened.

 

I bought two cases (24 ea) of Lightfire Habenero Extreme in 1998 in preps for 2000 meltdown. I still have 39 bottles as it only takes several drops to light up.

It is just as mean as the day I bought it, and I like it really hot. I don't doubt a 20-30 year lifespan as the acid in these peppers is Sulfuric. I googled it and can no longer find it so I guess they were bought out or went out of business.

This stuff would give a texican the ****s. It is that hot. Cures the common cold in about 5 seconds though. Fever? 10 seconds.
It will be the first thing I grab, in front of ASA, when I get my heart attack. lol

 

I have the tabasco sauce recipe book printed in '61, as I love it, but hawaiian chili wata I can drink it's so tasty. Yes tabasco will last forever.

With Suda saimin and pork, I added some Auntie Sue's hot sauce, tobasco, and black pepper. Absolutely perfect for the hangover or breakfast period.

 

Love some Tabasco, but do have one concern. May make your water consumption increase dramatically

 

Thanks, mostly just curious because it is so popular. Looks like good old Tabasco is best for the long term. Sriracha has about the right level of heat. It permits flavor to still be tasted. Much too hot for most folks I suspect.

I located on line a ten pounder of New Mexico Red chile power, medium heat. Will have to locate some green also. My preference is the green. I am thinking of sealing it all in quarter pound packages with O2. Half pint canning jars might work too, but mylar will keep the UV out and that is better.

 

something else just occured to me how ancient are some of those little bottles in MREs and C-rats

 

I have run into many Bottles of Sriracha in Restaraunts that has a Mold Culture in the Neck of the Bottle! I look for it, and ask for New, whenever I encounter it. If you see that there is a level lower in the bottle, and that there is a lot of SriRacha "Stuck" in the neck of the Bottle, look carefully!!!

On board Ship, Louisana Hot Sauce, Texas Pete, and Tobasco don't last too long!

I have noticed that the Color gets much Lighter if Tobasco is left in the Sun, but have noticed little change in Taste.

A Little Fun Factoid: The Astronauts On the Space Station used the Little Bottles of Tabasco as a Currency when faced with Trying to "Buy Off" from Chores - They valued the use of Tabasco to help with Flavor in Low G enviro - apparently sense of Smell/Taste was lessened, and Tabasco offered the Extra Kick needed. So if ya wanted to get someone to do your Chores, ya had to offer Multiple Bottles of Tabasco!

 

I grow red chili peppers, chop them up, add pickling salt and put them in a gallon jar in the basement for two to three months.

After they have fermented, I put on goggles and a respirator, and run them through a "Juice Man".

Tabasco peppers run between 30,000 - 50,000 scoville units
The original sauce runs from 2500 - 5000 su

Texas Pete is 747 su

Frank's is 450 su

My Chiles are supposed to be 40,000 - 50,000 su
But my sauce is not as hot as original Tabasco, but hotter than Texas Pete, so I am probably around 1000 - 2000 su.

I've never seen a bottle of hot sauce go bad. My parents had one in the cabinet through my entire childhood, and by the time I started liking hot sauce (16), it was still good.

 

i prefer texas pete personally... less vinegar... more full bodied flavor

 

The hot sauce thing, indeed, spices of all kinds, could be overlooked by the masses in their panic when SHTF. Stock up on a variety if you can; I think it will be a superb barter item.

 

Red and green tabasco are good, I also like jalapeno based hot sauces, and El Yucateco habinero is really good (just added some to my Bloody Mary), nice flavor and not super hot like Daves.

My favorite all around is Siracha!!! It is the best on hot dogs, chili and works great for Thai foods and soups.

Here is my current inventory in the fridge.

 

Tabasco is nice but I prefer many others.

El Yucateco habinero is really good (just added some to my Bloody Mary), nice flavor and not super hot like Daves.

Love all of the El Yucateco line, as well as Dave's.

My favorite all around is Siracha!!!

Love that one too.

Though I do also love Huy Fong Hot Chili Garlic Sauce.

♪ ♫ Love is a burning thing
And it makes a fiery ring
Bound by wild desire
I fell into a ring of fire

I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down and the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire
The ring of fire ♪ ♫

 

I just happened to speak to a MArine buddy of mine today when he came for his season tickets and I brought this up. It seems the government *tries* to make sure LA soldiers have their Tobasco!!!:thumb:


PS Tobasco is recognized by the British crown as something in the Queens own pantry.