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Does Mustard Go Bad? How Long Before It Does?

Nothing beats sandwich with a freshly baked sausage and onions, with some good mustard on it. This evening, you’ll have some and you see that your mustard is at least a few weeks past the date. Does mustard go bad?

Of course, it goes bad, just like any other food or condiment. Mustard is one of those condiments that can last for quite some time.

In this article, we will cover all you need to know about mustard, its shelf life, how to store it and the signs of spoilage. You can have that great sausage with onions.

Enjoy the read

What Is Mustard

Mustard is a very popular condiment, made from little seeds from the mustard plant. Those seeds need to be crushed or ground very thin to release their flavor. They’re mixed with liquid to make a good paste, allowing it to use as a condiment or in dishes and recipes.

How Long Can Mustard Last

For your convenience, we will start with a quick table:

MustardPantry Refrigerator
Unrefrigerated and UnopenedBest-by date + up to 1 year
Unrefrigerated and Opened/Up to 2 months
Refrigerated and Unopened/Best-by date + up to 12 months (1 year)
Refrigerated and Opened/Up to 12 months (1 year)
Homemade Up to a 1-2 daysUp to 7 days (1 week)
Indicative timetable for how long mustard can last before going bad. Always look for spoilage signs.

Mustard will almost always have a printed date on it, indicating its quality and thus how long it will likely remain fresh. If stored properly, it can last for some period after this date.

Since there are so many different mustards out there, we’ll have to give very general guidelines. As always, trust your senses, along with our guidelines covered down below.

There is a lot of mustard available from producers: Heinz, D&L, Kraft, and many many more.

How Long Can Unrefrigerated Mustard Bought At The Store Last

Mustard bought at the store can be bought in both unrefrigerated sections and refrigerated sections. The rule is to where you’ve bought them, you store them (if the mustard remains unopened that is).

Mustard that is bought in the unrefrigerated section and remains unopened will remain good for up to 1 year past the best-by date if stored correctly in the pantry. This means safe from heat sources, in a dark and cool place, and sealed tight.

Mustard that is opened, be it unrefrigerated or refrigerated, will remain good for up to 2 months past the best-by date. This is a general rule for oils and sauces.

How Long Can Refrigerated Mustard Bought At The Store Last

The difference is noteworthy for changing your storage routines.

When you store your mustard in the refrigerator, it can last up to 1 year past the best-by date.

If the period is longer, it doesn’t necessarily mean your mustard is too bad, it just means you shouldn’t expect the same quality of taste when you should eat it. It also might have lost its consistency and texture.

We’d say that storebought unopened mustard should be good for up to 1 year after its best-by date. Some mustards will easily last longer. Always try to finish them within a shorter amount of time.

From the moment you open it, it should remain good for up to 1 year after opening it.

Of course, always check this with the best-by date on the product, this doesn’t prolong its shelf life.

You can of course also make mustard yourself at home, following a simple recipe.

How Long Can Homemade Mustard Last

Homemade mustard can last up to 1 day when stored at room temperature and up to 7 days (1 week) when stored in the fridge or even longer.

Of course, lasting longer or shorter depends on the type of mustard you’ve made: dry mustard will last longer in the pantry (up to 1 year) and even longer in the fridge. But as our general advice goes, we’d like to say on GoodOrGoneBad that you should finish this mustard within the first 2 days, just for quality reasons.

How To Store Mustard

Mustard is a condiment, just like mayonnaise and ketchup, and others. You should store mustard in the same way you store them.

Mustard will most likely be sold in tubes, squeeze bottles, or in glass containers for households. Plastic is also possible but more for businesses.

Always store the mustard in a dark and cool place, safely away from heat sources and direct sunlight. Some of the external threats as we like to call them. The pantry will do just fine.

Always seal it very tight, if it can’t be resealed, transfer everything to an airtight container. This will prevent it from going bad sooner and drying out.

When you’re using mustard, always transfer the mustard to another container to put on the table. Transfer it with a clean spoon.

You’d be surprised at how many bacteria you could transfer this way. Think about it, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard won’t be placed fully on the table at the restaurant but in small portions and with their own spoon. Why shouldn’t you do this at home?

How To Store Unrefrigerated Mustard

Unrefrigerated mustard should be stored in the pantry or cupboard, away from direct sunlight and heat sources if unopened. Placing it directly in the fridge might be an even better routine.

How To Store Refrigerated Mustard

From the moment you open it, place it in the fridge, or it will spoil faster.

Refrigerated mustard should stay where it belongs, in the refrigerator.

The rule is, once you open it, always in the fridge. Don’t let it sit out for a long time at room temperature as you’ll notice soon enough. Store everything where mustard is used away and sealed tight in the fridge.

How To Store Homemade Mustard

Homemade mustard should always be stored in the refrigerator and finished within the week.

If you’ve too much mustard, you can always opt for freezing them.

Can You Freeze Mustard

Yes, you can freeze mustard, for up to 12 months or 1 year, but should you?

We always say on GoodOrGoneBad that you should think about what you will freeze and what not. Freezing means taking some capacity, capacity that you won’t be able to use for something else. As mustard is an acidic product, we dare to say that you don’t need to freeze your mustard.

If you do want to freeze your mustard, please consider the following tips:

  • Put it in a freezer bag, or 2 plastic bags (squeeze the air out of it), or put it in an airtight container.
  • Label the package with the correct date and time.
  • When you want to thaw it, let it rest in the fridge for one night
  • Stir everything up.

It won’t have the same consistency, texture, and taste as it had before.

On GoodOrGoneBad, we don’t want you to take unnecessary risks, freezing your mustard and thawing them are for us extra unnecessary risks.

How Can You Tell If Mustard Has Gone Bad

As we’ve said before, everything will go bad after some time, even mustard, but it’s unlikely it will spoil soon, because of the acids in it.

It’s not that hard to check whether your mustard has gone bad or not:

  1. Does the mustard have another (darker) color? If yes, get rid of it. Don’t bother removing the darker parts.
  2. Are there any black spots on/in the container? This can be a sign of mold. Discard it immediately.
  3. Does the mustard have a sharp smell? If you smell something funny or unpleasant, discard it immediately.
  4. How is the taste? Does it taste odd or unpleasant? Please get rid of it.

Always use your senses and intuition when it comes to making this call whether you should discard it away or not. On GoodOrGoneBad, we always say that it’s better to be safe, and thus when there’s doubt, discard it without regrets.

Enjoy your mustard!