Why can baked goods like cookies and cake be left out on the counter that contain eggs, but scrambled or fried eggs would need to be refrigerated?
In: Other
Many factors are considered for food spoilage, but for this example, I give you the two main reasons:
1. Baking food kills a lot of microbes that can cause the food to spoil. So they stay good for longer.
2. In chemistry, there is a term called Activity of Water or Water Activity *(aw)* which basically means how much water is available for the microbes to use. Cooking and baking reduces the *aw* and helps the food stay good for longer. For example, when you make jam out of cherries and add a lot of sugar, the sugar reduces the aw. That’s why jams stay good for long periods of time.
Edit:
1. Thank you for the upvotes and awards. Please also award the OP themself, since a good question is more valuable than a good answer.
2. Water Activity is mostly influenced by osmolarity, which basically means how many particles are in the water. These particles can be anything, sugar molecules, Na and Cl ions (from salt), etc. So food does not have to be dry to have low water activity necessarily. If you add too many particles to food (A lot of sugar or a lot of salt), then water activity is reduced. Although, adding not enough sugar might actually make it spoil faster since it is a good food source for many microbes.
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