People who have never used fish sauce before often want to know how long a bottle lasts and how to store it. The answer isn’t clear-cut because it depends on the type of fish sauce you have and how often you use it. A bottle of fish sauce can last for two to three years after it has been opened, or even longer. Hopefully you’ll go through a bottle of nuoc mam faster than those estimates.
To be honest, my kitchen isn’t neat, but I’ll let you look in my fridge, cabinet of condiments, and pantry (a dark hall closet). I spread my fish sauce stash in all three of those spots. The explanation below will hopefully explain my strategies.
Fish sauce is a staple ingredient in many Asian cuisines. Its umami depth adds irresistible flavor to dishes like pad thai, pho, and stir fries. But because fish sauce is made from fermented fish and salt, it’s natural to wonder – can it actually go bad?
As a lover of Asian cooking, I used to worry about my bottles of fish sauce lingering a bit too long in my pantry. So I did some digging to find out the shelf life of fish sauce and how to know if it has spoiled.
In this article I’ll share everything I learned about
- The shelf life of unopened vs opened fish sauce
- Signs that your fish sauce has expired
- Safety of using fish sauce past its date
- Proper storage to maximize freshness
- How to revive funky fish sauce
- When to toss fish sauce for good
Let’s dive in so you can keep your fish sauce flavorful for all your culinary endeavors!
Does Fish Sauce Expire?
Fish sauce can expire eventually, but it has an exceptionally long shelf life. That’s thanks to the salt, preservatives, and fermentation process used to make it.
Unopened Fish Sauce
An unopened bottle of fish sauce can last 2-4 years stored in a cool, dark pantry. The expiration date on the bottle is a good guideline, but the sauce will usually keep for quite awhile beyond that.
Opened Fish Sauce
Once opened, fish sauce will keep for 3-12 months in the refrigerator. If you don’t use it often, keeping it chilled is best. But it can last about 1 month in the pantry after opening.
So fear not – a bottle of fish sauce can stick around for ages in your kitchen without safety concerns or big flavor changes. But there are some signs that your fish sauce may be past its prime.
How Can You Tell If Fish Sauce Has Gone Bad?
Fish sauce rarely “goes bad” in the traditional sense of growing mold or bacteria. But there are a few indicators that your fish sauce’s quality is starting to deteriorate:
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Change in color: Fresh fish sauce ranges from light amber to caramel brown. If it darkens significantly or lightens, it could be oxidizing.
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Cloudiness: Fish sauce is typically translucent. Cloudiness or particles floating around signify proteins coagulating.
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Strong, offensive odor: Fish sauce has a salty, funky aroma. If it smells particularly pungent or rotten, it’s likely gone off.
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Mold growth: You may see yeast or mold on the surface, which means it should be tossed.
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Diminished flavor: If the flavor seems especially weak or salty, the nuanced umami taste has diminished.
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Crystal formation: Crystals on the bottom are naturally forming salt and don’t indicate spoilage.
If you notice any of the first 5 signs, it’s best to get rid of the fish sauce. But if it just has some harmless salt crystals or tastes weaker, it’s still safe to cook with – though the flavor impact may be reduced.
Is It Safe To Use Fish Sauce After the Expiration Date?
Because fish sauce has such a long shelf life, it is generally safe to use even after the printed expiration date has passed – as long as it has been stored properly and there are no signs of spoilage.
It’s especially common for unopened bottles to maintain quality and flavor for a year or two past the date. However, there are no guarantees about exactly how long fish sauce will stay good past its date.
My advice is to rely on your senses. Give it a sniff, look for any mold, crystals or clouding, and taste a drop. If nothing seems off, the fish sauce is likely still fine to cook with. But if you detect any sour, rotten, or overly salty flavors, err on the side of caution and replace your bottle.
Proper Storage of Fish Sauce
To get the longest shelf life out of your fish sauce, proper storage is key. Here are some fish sauce storage tips:
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Store unopened bottles in a cool, dry pantry away from light and heat.
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Refrigerate opened bottles, especially if you use infrequently. The cold prolongs freshness.
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Ensure bottle is tightly sealed when not in use. Air exposure speeds staling.
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Keep away from freeze/thaw cycles. Freezing can degrade quality.
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Transfer to smaller container if not using often. Less air contact means longer life.
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If saving only a small amount, store in a tightly sealed freezer bag after opening. Removes air.
Following these guidelines, your fish sauce can maintain peak flavor and aroma for many months, even years past its printed expiration date.
What If My Fish Sauce Smells Bad? Can I Refresh It?
Sometimes fish sauce develops an especially strong, pungent odor but shows no other signs of spoilage. This can happen if a bottle has been left open too long or stored in hot conditions.
Before abandoning funky-smelling fish sauce, try this trick:
Add a few drops of vinegar and stir. Let sit overnight in the fridge. The acid often helps mellow the harsh aromas.
If that doesn’t improve the scent, simmer the fish sauce with some ginger, lemon grass, garlic, or other aromatics. This can freshen up the flavor.
However, if the odor is clearly rotten or the fish sauce shows any mold, cloudiness, etc – it’s best to discard it. At that point, even cooking can’t revive it.
When Is It Time to Throw Out Fish Sauce For Good?
Here are the scenarios where fish sauce is beyond saving and needs to be tossed:
- Mold or yeast forming on surface
- Strong rotten, sour, or rancid smell
- Dramatic darkening or lightening of color
- Thick cloudiness and coagulated proteins
- More than a year past expiration if unrefrigerated after opening
Trust your senses on this one. If something seems clearly off with the appearance, aroma, or flavor – don’t take risks. Toss the fish sauce and open a fresh bottle.
With proper storage and handling, fish sauce can last ages in your pantry or fridge. But once it starts exhibiting signs of serious deterioration, it’s reached the end of its long shelf life. Time to say farewell and grab a new bottle.
The Takeaway – Keep Your Fish Sauce Flavorful and Safe
Fish sauce has an incredible ability to bring dimension and umami depth to Asian and fusion dishes. Learn to store it correctly, identify signs of spoilage, and use your senses to determine if your bottle is still good.
With a vigilant eye and proper handling, your fish sauce can maintain quality and taste for many months or even years past that expiration date on the bottle.
Got other fish sauce tips or experiences with older bottles? Share your thoughts in the comments! I love to hear how long you’ve kept fish sauce fresh.
Fish Sauce Storage Basic Know-How
Let’s get this over with. You do not have to refrigerate fish sauce. In an article published at The Takeout, Cynthia James at Cornell University’s Cornell Food Venture Center discusses how soy sauce and fish sauce have “water activity” that are controlled, meaning that the water in the liquid condiments are very well bound to salt and other molecules.
The result is this: there’s little opportunity for pathogens to proliferate. So yes, you can keep fish sauce at room temperature without bacterial harm.
But just because you can do something, is it wise to always follow that rule? I do not.
Why Refrigerate Fish Sauce
To refrigerate fish sauce or not — that’s a personal and functional choice. My 85-year-old mom doesn’t refrigerate nuoc mam. She blasts through fish sauce with all the Viet cooking that she does. A cheaper bottle is for cooking, and a better bottle is for dipping foods. She usually has two open at the same time. That’s the typical, old-school Viet approach. Save the good stuff for the table.
There are eight bottles open right now so I can test them out in class, use them to make good recipes, and just be interested in the different brands I find. I dont refrigerate them all.
Son and Red Boat are two brands of Vietnamese artisanal fish sauce that I keep in my fridge. They have high nitrogen levels, which are a measure of how umami-rich a condiment is. A relatively high nitrogen level (“N”) means big flavor but it also makes fish sauces somewhat delicate. Left out at room temperature, those brands quickly develop gas inside their bottles. Open the cap and the fish sauce farts, which is somewhat alarming. I consider a fish sauces gassy stability to decide if it needs to be refrigerated.
Danny Tran of Son Fish Sauce suggested refrigerating high-grade fish sauce to keep them better. He said finding a good cap for fish sauce bottles is a challenge. It needs to fit tight but people should be able to open a cap with relative easy.
Cuong Pham of Red Boat used to advise keeping fish sauce at room temperature but the RB label now says to refrigerate also. He’s also careful in sourcing the caps for his bottles. He mentioned that the caps Red Boat uses give a little but are strong and tight fitting.
My fridge door also has a supermarket fish sauce, made by A Taste of Thai. I like that fish sauce, and even though it’s not expensive or high-end, I plan to keep it for a long time so I can use it to test recipes and bring it to class to taste nuoc mam. It’s a brand that’s carried at at only a handful of supermarkets so replacing it is hard. I’d rather keep it in a safe place — the fridge.
Another reason to keep fish sauce in the fridge is that the smell of the salty, savory fish will be less strong if you keep nuoc mam, nam pla, or patis cool. Note that high quality fish sauce is heady like dried porcini mushroom. Chill fish sauce to downplay its aroma.
Does fish sauce expire?
How do you know if fish sauce is bad?
You may notice that yeast or mold has formed on the surface of your fish sauce. Alternatively, the smell or color of the fish sauce may change considerably. In any of these cases, you should discard the fish sauce straight away. If the fish sauce looks and smells fine, then it is a good idea to do a quick taste test.
Can fish sauce go bad?
Fish sauce doesn’t spoil easily, but that doesn’t mean fish sauce can’t go bad. When checking its safety, look for mold growth, off smells, and changes in consistency. Next, let’s dive into each of these spoilage signs in more detail, so you avoid dousing your next Asian dish with spoiled fish sauce. Off Smells
Does fish sauce smell fishy?
Fish sauce does smell somewhat ‘fishy’, especially if you’re not familiar with it. Hang on there, don’t be deterred by the smell. Once you add a dash or two into the recipe, you’ll be blown away by the rich flavor it creates. But, if the smell is different from the first time you opened the bottle, the fish sauce may have degraded.
Does fish sauce lose flavor over time?
The more your fish sauce is exposed to air, the more likely it is to lose its flavor over time. This is one of the reasons using it within a year of opening is often recommended. During that year, you’ll probably open that bottle a dozen of times, contributing to the gradual loss of flavor. Temperature