A Common Condiment You Should (but Probably Don't) Refrigerate

Imagine this scenario: you have just sat down to a beautiful plate of french toast and begin to pour sticky maple syrup over the stack, when out plops a funky black lump from the bottle. This picture-perfect moment is ruined, and you can't help but leap back from the table from shock and disgust. What the heck could be growing in the bottle?

This not-so-pleasant predicament actually happened to me, so I'm sharing my learnings with you. Maple syrup, as it turns out, should always be refrigerated upon opening, otherwise you could wind up with the situation I just described, with mold growing inside the bottle. Personally, I have never refrigerated any sugary syrups (agave, honey, brown rice syrup), so I can't believe I've lived this long not refrigerating maple syrup. While some claim you can scrape off the mold and boil the syrup to kill the remaining strands of bacteria, I prefer to live by the mantra "When in doubt, toss it out."

Can you relate to this experience? Did you know to refrigerate maple syrup?