Does a pumpkin pie require refrigeration? I know it has egg yolks.

 Many things people tend to chuck in the refrigerator do not require refrigeration, pumpkin pie among them. The sugar in the pie is one thing that helps retard spoilage.

For that matter, eggs don't need refrigeration. It is only since the early 1970s that laws in this country required retailers to keep eggs under refrigeration. All over Western Europe and other very civilized parts of the world, eggs are unrefrigerated in grocery stores.

In the past year alone, we have seen eggs out at room temperature in very fancy supermarkets in Paris, Berlin, and Madrid. It never fails to catch us by surprise, but by the sheer number of Parisians, Berliners, and Madrileños walking the streets, we assume that some of them, at least, have eaten one or more eggs that was unrefrigerated at some point, and still they manage to maintain thriving societies.

That doesn’t mean you can keep your pumpkin pie out forever. Eat it up within a few days.

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