Why don't cookies need to be refrigerated?

hintmaster

"Foods need to be either non-perishable, or they need to be kept properly cold or hot," Here is a site that can help http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/news/acc807.htm Dec 07 06, 10:11 PM

Baloo55th

Hintmaster, can I ask you please to give some more info? These academic sites vanish like the dew in the morning very often. So do other ones. Libraries are full of books that stay there for years and years, but the internet is more like a room with people rushing in and out. At any one time you may find a person with a knowledge of cookies, but it may not always be the same person. Dec 08 06, 5:14 AM

Gnomon

Cookies don't need to be refrigerated for two reasons: they are dry, and they have a high sugar content. These mean that micro-organisms can not live in them, as the sugar will suck the moisture out of the organism by osmosis, and it will die. The same principle means that jam (jelly) doesn't need to be refrigerated. Dec 08 06, 7:34 AM

TheuntouchablE

They have lots of sugar. If they were refridgerated for more than 48 hours, they would completely freeze. Dec 08 06, 9:29 AM

Baloo55th

You have better luck with jam than I do. I find it goes mouldy if not refrigerated. Dec 08 06, 9:33 AM

Gnomon

It depends on the fruit to sugar ratio. Cheap jam has more sugar, so it keeps better. High-quality jam has more fruit and should be kept in the fridge. Dec 08 06, 6:22 PM