Created in 1868 by New Orleans banker Edmund McIlhenny, Tabasco has grown from its New Orleans roots to become the ubiquitous American hot sauce. Also branching into foreign markets, Tabasco is now sold in over 160 countries around the world and its label has been translated into over 22 different languages. A hardy product, Tabasco is known to last, opened or unopened, refrigerated or unrefrigerated, for years. Enduring though it may be, the many different Tabasco sauces currently at market do eventually expire.
Instructions
1. Check the date code on your Tabasco bottle. Each Tabasco bottle is marked with a date code to identify its production time. Tabasco lists "16451A" as an example of such a code and breaks the code down as such:
"164 - Day of Year (June 13th)
5 - Year (1995)
1 - Line Number (assembly line in the pepper sauce factory)
A - Batch Reference"
2. Identify the type of Tabasco you have. The different varieties of Tabasco have different shelf lives. The original Tabasco sauce has a shelf life of five years, while Tabasco Garlic Pepper and Habanero sauces last two years and Green Jalapeño Pepper and Chipotle Pepper have just 18 months of usefulness.
3. Compare the date code on the bottle against the shelf life of the sauce. Open or unopened, Tabasco sauce shelf lives are the same. If the time since the production of your sauce extends beyond shelf life for the sauce, it has expired.
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