Watery ketchup is a sad fact of life ― we’ve all grown too used to that loose pre-sauce mess when we squeeze the bottle.
Watery mayo, though? That feels like an abomination.
If you’ve ever reached into your fridge for the condiment only to find it’s grown yellowish and seems to have split, you’ll understand how distressing the dressing can be.
But it turns out it’s a pretty simple problem to prevent ― it’s all down to where you place your mayo bottle, or jar, in the fridge.
Mayonnaise can get too cold
Mayonnaise producer Hellmann’s shared on their site that mayo should be refrigerated once opened to keep it fresher for longer.
But putting it in the back of your fridge, especially if your fridge is very cold, can do more harm than good.
That’s because freezing the egg-based sauce can “change its consistency, texture and thickness, and will likely cause separation,” the brand revealed.
In fact, the coldest spot might be so chilly that it gives the product freezer burn.
Instead, you should “store it in your refrigerator door”, Hellmann’s writes.
Chef Molly Gordon told Southern Living that, due to the preservatives in the product, mayonnaise will survive the temperature fluctuations that come with opening and closing the fridge door.
Does the fridge door make such a difference?
Yes.
Cheese and eggs should never be kept in the fridge door, for instance; nor should milk.
Trevor Craig, a food safety expert for Microbac Laboratories, told CNET: “The back of the fridge is where the cooling units typically are, so as you move forward, away from those cooling units, you see that being a little bit warmer.”
“I put things in the door that maybe don’t really need to be refrigerated or are a little bit more tolerant... Things that have really long shelf lives like jams and jellies and a lot of condiments,” he added.
One of my condiments in particular has just been rehomed there.