Question for the British board members

Does HP Sauce ever spoil?

This is our first bottle. The expiration date is January 2015. We opened it in February 2015 and it has been in our refrigerator since.

My girlfriend insists that it tastes sour but I do not think so. I believe it is the vinegar she is tasting.

 

If it tastes and looks ok it is ok. Almost all items have a best before that is way before its really not ok to use. Makes people throw things away before they should. My rule is if it's got stuff growing on it. Throw it out. Otherwise it's fine. But that's just the Scotsman in me.

David

 

Not sure on USA labelling laws, but the UK ones are "Best Before:" which they stick on everything even if it never goes off, so you can ignore it, and "Use By:" which goes on things that do spoil (eg. raw meat), and are worth following.

I don't even keep my HP sauce in the fridge.

 

my HP brown sauce never gets chance to go off lol
Only keep mine in the cupboard not the fridge. Give it a good shake to make sure it hasn't separated then give it another try, if it still tastes weird buy a new one and don't let it go to waste. Cardinal sin that one

 

If your HP sauce spoiled, how would you know?

 

You do know how to tell if the Vegemite is bad? Just take off the seal and open the jar.

It's like Tabasco going "bad." I buy such large bottles it goes through a few color changes before being used up.

 

Tabasco, like mustard or horseradish, loses potency over time. I've been buying Yucatan Sunshine, which I prefer a bit over Tabasco, in small bottles (which is the only size I can get). Applying the same rule to Vegemite and HP, I would speculate that they ought to improve over time.

Don't take this wrong, my Brit friends. Love your country, your cooking has improved quite a bit over the years, you still have the dullest breakfast fare, the worst array of sauces, and inedible sausage.

 

Crystal, Cholula and Tapatio are the cornerstones here, and some stuff we found in Hana that I now mail order.

 

You have clearly never visited Ireland!

 

Point taken. I have been served dozens of inedible sausages over there, but all in England.

 

Can't beat HP on a bacon butty