Shelf life of Nam Pla

[JonL]

I've got a half bottle of the stuff that's been on the shelf, capped but opened, for literally 15 years or more. Yeah, I use it all the time :>).
Is this something that was rotten at the factory and ain't gone get any more rotten and will last forever or do I ditch it and buy a little bottle for the recipe I'm going to try where I need a little bit?

[torty]

At 2 to 3 dollars a bottle I'm thinkin you should get a new one. Usually after time they concentrate and salt crystalizes out, etc. I have used old ones and can tell the diff in a new bottle.

[JonL]

OK. Good. So it might not kill me but it definitely degrades over time. I've got my answer. Thank you all for the help.

[ricepad]

I wouldn't say it "degrades" over time, but it definitely gets more concentrated as the water evaporates.

[Romanmk]

If you hold the bottle up to the light fresh fish sauce will be a nice reddish brown shade. It has passed it's prime when it turns dark brown.

[gansu girl]

15 years is a long time . . . but everyone tells me that nam pla "lasts forever." It's fermented, so I'll bet it's fine and at the least, it won't hurt you - just might not taste quite right at this point. The longest I've had a bottle is 2 years . . . .