Does Tartar Sauce Go Bad?

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Tatar sauce is a creamy white-colored sauce that originated from France and was used with a French dish called Steak Tartare, and from there, its name changed to tartar. It is a mixture of pickles and Mayonnaise. It has a thick consistency, and some people also add mustards, Worcestershire sauce, or vinegar into it, and it usually depends on an individual’s taste.

It has a tangy plus creamy, rich flavor that goes well with seafood, fried, or roasted items; it can be used as a dipping sauce and condiment.

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How To Store Tartar Sauce?

Tartar sauce does not have a long shelf life, and it can easily go bad if it is not stored properly, but you can increase its shelf life by storing it with precautions. It has pickles in its ingredients made with vinegar, so it is believed that it should have a long shelf life, but due to its main ingredient, which is Mayonnaise, tartar sauce is vulnerable to getting spoiled.

You can store your tartar sauce and use it for a long time if you follow the methods which are listed below,

Storing Homemade Tartar Sauce:

If you have made your tartar sauce at home, you have to store it more carefully because homemade sauces are more prone to get spoiled than commercially made sauces. After all, you do not add preservatives in your sauce at home while those made commercially preservatives are added in them and last longer.

Try to keep your homemade sauce in a cool place that is a refrigerator. Always use a cleaned and dried spoon to take it out of the container and keep it perfectly closed to avoid moisture exposure.

Storing Canned Tartar Sauce:

If you have bought canned tartar sauce and store it for a long time, you don’t have to worry because it has a long life span of about half of the year.

But you should store it in a refrigerator after you have opened it because once it is opened, it becomes vulnerable and can get easily spoiled if it is not stored in a cool place.

If you keep it refrigerated, your canned tartar sauce will remain good for six months.

Refrigerate it:

It is always a good option to keep your tartar sauce in a refrigerator; homemade ones and canned ones should be kept in the refrigerator to make them last longer.

Can You Freeze Tartar Sauce?

It is believed that freezing can increase the life span of most of the food items, which is true to some extent, but when it comes to tartar sauce, freezing it directly will not be a good option. The reason behind it is that the base ingredient of tartar sauce is Mayonnaise, and when you freeze it, it will spread into pieces once you thaw it, and its texture will be ruined completely.

To counter this, you can freeze the partially made tartar sauce, add the Mayonnaise into it before freezing, and add it later when you thaw it.

How Long Does Tartar Sauce Last?

It depends on the type and the storage conditions in which you have kept your tartar sauce; normally, the store-bought tartar sauce remains good for half of the year after it opened.

While unopened tartar will be good for about a year approximately, and you do not need to store it in a refrigerator before opening, store it in a cool and dry place like in your pantry, and it will be good.

If you have made it at home, then it is a different case, homemade ones usually have a shorter life span because they do not contain any preservative plus Mayonnaise make it prone to get spoiled early, but if you follow the proper methods to store it, you can use it for about several weeks without getting it spoiled. It is better to keep it refrigerated and store it in an airtight jar to prevent exposure to moisture.

How To Tell If Tartar Sauce Is Bad?

You can tell the difference between good and bad tartar sauce by looking at it and smell it. You can look for the following changes that can occur in your tartar sauce when it is about to spoil or already spoiled,

Dark Coloration: If you notice that the color of your tartar sauce has turned darker, it shows spoilage.
Bad Smell: When you sniff and notice that an offensive smell is coming out of it, you should not use it because it is a sure sign of spoilage in tartar sauces.
Mold Growth: Normally, if mold has grown on tartar sauce, there are grey-colored spots appeared on the surface of it; if you notice such spots, then toss it over right away.