Recently I came across this funny little problem. Someone brought us a few slices of homemade pie, and neither of us wanted to eat any at that moment. So I left it on the counter in its tin foil container.
At some point, the person for whom the pie had been brought saw that I’d left it on the counter and told me that was disgusting, I should put it in the fridge.
A few weeks later, I was on the receiving end of a delicious cupcake with cream cheese frosting, which I saved for the next day, and at some point, I thought to myself, “Is it okay if I leave this on the counter seeing as the frosting is cream cheese?” I didn’t want to put it in the refrigerator because it just seemed *wrong* somehow, so I left it, again in a container, on my counter. After the cupcake was eaten, no stomach pains ensued, so I think that was okay. But I wonder…
how do you store your baked goods???
Homemade AND store-bought (ie, laden with preservatives):
Pie, pre-cutting, post-cutting
Cake, pre-slicing, post-slicing
Cupcakes, with or without frosting, what type of frosting
Cookies
My sister tells me that regardless of where the pie came from, she will store it on the counter until it’s been cut, then into the fridge it goes.
My brother seems to think it should all go in the fridge.
Debbie Downer, my coworker, says it all belongs in her mouth.
So… please help???
Allison says
Typically if the baked good has large amounts of cream cheese or sour cream etc. in the frosting or filling, I refrigerate it. Like a cheesecake or banana cream pie, definitely. A cupcake with cream cheese frosting… not always, unless its hot and the frosting is going to melt. I haven’t gotten sick yet! 😛
Anonymous says
I don’t have an expert answer for you, but I just wanted to comment that I think it’s interesting that you separate an unsliced baked good from a sliced one. It’s not like canned goods where it’s safe to be at room temp before opened but unsafe after, right? Because the crust on the pie doesn’t actually keep anything (bacteria) out, right? I’m not meaning to sound as rude as I probably am–just sarcastic because I think it’s a funny distinction to make.
Basically, it all comes down to ingredients. Cake, cupcakes, cookies, etc., are essentially just like bread–you can leave them out. It depends on what’s in the frosting. If it’s made from shortening, I’d say you can leave it out because shortening is stored on the shelf. If it’s made from butter then I’d be okay to leave it out for a day or two, because you can leave butter out to soften for at least a day without it going bad. I usually put things with cream cheese or sour cream frosting in the fridge just because I want it to last for several days and I don’t think it would be okay for that long if unrefrigerated. But a day or two shouldn’t be a problem.
I’ve always refrigerated pies within several hours of baking because (for fruit pies), I assume it’s like jam–needs to be refrigerated. But that has nothing to do with whether it’s been cut or not. If the pie is made earlier in the day and won’t be eaten until evening, I think it’s fine to leave out that long. Or if you make a pie, slice and serve it, and then leave it out for a few more hours–not a problem. But I wouldn’t store it in general outside of the refrigerator.
Yvo says
Haha… I didn’t think you were rude OR sarcastic until you said you were…
and actually, I’m not the one distinguishing between the two, my sister is. I wouldn’t put pie in the fridge at all… I don’t think. I don’t bake, so this is an odd question for me. I can’t picture putting cupcakes in the fridge either, but if I had a bakery-cake, that would probably go in the fridge because of all the dairy in the frostings. I don’t disagree with anything you both have said… thanks for all your help! I really don’t ever have that many if any baked goods in my place, so I’m fairly clueless about this stuff…
Aoife says
I think I leave most baked goods out on the counter, refrigerating dairy goods (like cheesecake or cream cheese frosting) and cut pies (I don’t know why). I’ll also refrigerate cake if I’m trying to make it last or if it’s really butter-heavy. I’ve even frozen bread and cakes before, without any trouble.
jinius says
whenever i buy baked goods at a bakery the employee tells me not to refrigerate it.
Cathy@noteatingoutinny says
I too refrigerate most baked goods because I have some horrible memories of pies left out from Thanksgiving for a couple of days that resulted in moldy crusts (shiver). The only things I wouldn’t refrigerate is anything that really should be eaten the day of its being baked (crusty French breads or pastries), because I’ll eat them that day.
R0CKY says
i’m glad you asked cuz i want confirmation.
i refrigerate everything and i’ll let it sit out for about an hour to “thaw” before i eat. i’m kind of a freak about germs and stuff and i know my thawing process totally defeats the whole refrigeration process so it makes not sense…
good to know that most people don’t refrigerate. they don’t do that in cafes or stores so that makes sense. i’ll start trying that now. i personally know some euro peeps that don’t even refrigerate butter. it’s just sitting out all day with no cover or anything. crazy.