How do astronauts get away with not refrigerating mayonnaise?

When I first moved to America, I was baffled by the habit Americans have of refrigerating almost everything.  In England, we never refrigerated eggs, cheese, bread, jam, butter, cooked meats, produce, gherkins, mayonnaise nor a host of other items.  Of course, our refrigerator was only 3 ft (1m) high and a third of that was freezer.  Americans had such massive refrigerators.

Commercial mayonnaise is made from pasteurized eggs and contains vinegar and lemon juice.  The acidity discourages the growth of bacteria and fungus.  Unless you're sticking really dirty knives into the jar, it is very unlikely the mayonnaise will become unsafe to eat.

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Robert Frost on Quora:

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