Sweet potato pies are common holiday delicacies in many countries. This might have you wondering how to store the leftover pies and if you can indeed refrigerate them to help them last longer for consumption purposes.
Does sweet potato pie need to be refrigerated?
If you want your sweet potato pie to have a longer shelf life then it is best to just refrigerate it to drag the consumption period longer. Any baked or cooked goods that may contain eggs, milk or cream stays the best when you refrigerate it as it avoids the goods from getting spoiled.
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You might feel iffy about storing such baked goods in the refrigerator and potentially ruining the taste of the fresh sweet potato pies. Though it is granted that once you keep something in the refrigerator, it will not have the same fresh taste when you consume it later.
However, at least it is granted that your baked goods will not be spoiled. Keeping it in the refrigerator keeps your food stay well for a longer period of time as it prevents the food from starting to get spoiled.
Sweet potato pie after baking:
You should never store your baked goods right after baking, especially sweet potato pie. It is certainly not necessary to refrigerate sweet potato pies right after baking.
It is very important that you give your pie a few hours for it to cool down at room temperature. This will allow the sweet potato pie to set properly and harden on its own.
Besides that, you must also keep in mind that keeping any hot item in the fridge can have bacteria in it and spoil the food.
Store-bought sweet potato pie:
You can and you should certainly refrigerate store-bought sweet potato pies. Usually, in bakeries, they let the sweet potato pies cool down completely and also let it set and harden for a few hours before they put it out for sale.
If you are not going to consume your store-bought sweet potato pies immediately or want to store the leftovers then you must simply wrap some plastic wrap over it gently and keep it in your refrigerator to consume it later on without any issues.
If you keep it outside for too long and if the weather is not favorable then your pie might end up getting spoiled if you do not store it properly after buying it.
Does sweet potato pie go bad if left out? How long can you leave sweet potato pie out?
It is certainly possible for your sweet potato pies to go bad if you leave them out for a longer period of time. Sweet potato pies consist of milk, eggs, and cream and have a custard layer inside.
This makes it very important for you to store it properly in the refrigerator because custard items have a tendency to get spoiled very easily. Keeping it out might make it have a bad odor and eventually it might get spoiled as well.
Once you get your sweet potato pie out of the oven, let it cool down for two to four hours maximum. You should not leave it out for long as it might not taste that great later on. Be sure to store it within four hours in the refrigerator.
Can you leave cooked sweet potato pie out overnight?
You should never leave your cooked sweet potato pie out overnight. The eggs, milk, and cream used in the sweet potato pies have a lot of protein and moisture present. This makes it very prone to promote bacteria to grow on your pies.
This can not only spoil your pie but also cause food poisoning if someone consumes it. Therefore, it is important that you store your pie in the refrigerator once it cools down after baking.
How long can you keep sweet potato pie in the refrigerator?
You can keep your sweet potato pie well in the refrigerator for up to four days. You can expect it to still be well till then, after that consuming it might cause food poisoning so you should throw it out since custard items get spoiled easily.
If you keep your sweet potato pie in the freezer then you can increase the shelf life by up to an entire month.
How to store sweet potato pie and keep it fresh?
There are certain tips you should follow when storing sweet potato pies and keeping them fresh for a longer period of time.
Keep your pie on a wire rack:
Once you get your pie fresh out of the oven, keeping it in a wire rack allows better air circulation which will cool your pie down faster. It helps set your pie and once the bottom of the pan is completely cool, your pie is ready to store in the fridge.
Wrapping the pie:
Once the pie has cooled down, loosely wrap the entirety of it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Be sure to seal the edges properly. If you do not want to put the pan inside your fridge, you can also slice up the pie into pieces and store it in a sealed plastic box.
Precaution:
If you are storing it with the pie pan then avoid placing anything on top of it as it can damage the top layer. You can store your pie in the fridge for up to four days.
Putting it in the freezer:
You can also keep your pie in the freezer for a longer period of time. Wrap two layers of plastic wrap safely around it and then add a layer of aluminum foil on top of that for extra protection and to avoid freezer burns.
You can then store your sweet potato pie in the freezer for up to an entire month.
Can sweet potato pie filling be frozen? How long can you freeze it?
Yes, you can certainly store sweet potato pie filling in the freezer. It is a good way to store leftover pie filling for future use. You can simply put the filling inside a freezer bag and wrap it with some plastic wrap for extra safety and to prevent freezer burns.
You can then store it for three and up until four months according to your convenience.
How to freeze unbaked sweet potato pie?
It is totally possible to freeze unbaked sweet potato pies. Holiday seasons can be quite the rush hour and this is a popular technique used by many people to save time as well as serve freshly baked pies for your family.
Make your pie:
Make your sweet potato pie according to the instructions or your own recipe. Be sure that you are using a metal pan for your pie because it is the most freezer-friendly and the stark temperature difference will not harm it.
Prepare to put it in the freezer:
When you are done making your pie, keep it as it is and wrap it with 3 layers of kitchen plastic wrap. It is then best if you keep your wrapped pie inside a large freezer bag.
This might take up more space, but it will certainly avoid any freezer burns on your pie.
Put a label on the pie:
If you are storing multiple goodies in your freezer for the holiday season then it will save you a lot of trouble later on if you follow the simple step of labeling your pie to avoid any confusion in the future.
Storage:
Keep in mind that you can store this frozen pie for up to four months to still keep it fresh and tasty. When you bring it out of the freezer for baking purposes, you will not need to defrost it. Instead, you will have to bake it longer than usual.
How do you know if Sweet potato pie is bad?
The best way to tell if your sweet potato pie or any food for that matter has gone bad is by using your senses. Not only will the texture be off, but there will also be a slight spoiled odor coming from your sweet potato pie, especially from the cream filling.
Another way you can note if your sweet potato pie has gotten spoiled is if the crust is really soggy. The bacteria invade the sweet cream filling of the pie first. When this happens, the cream filling releases water which then gets soaked up by the crust.
This causes the crust to become really soggy which is the biggest indicator of a spoiled sweet potato pie.
Final Thoughts:
It is very important that you keep in mind to refrigerate any goods that contain eggs, milk, or cream. These are very prone to get infused by bacterias which causes them to spoil easily. Sweet potato pies are one of those and to keep it fresh you must refrigerate it within a few hours.