>>> Vitamins, lipids, and sterols also degrade.The key factors are moisture and temperature. The drier the better, the cooler the better.

>> I wonder, however if the addition of sugars provide a similar or superior preservative effect compared to dry, cool conditions.

>  I'm referring to dry product, not patties. For proteins and vitamins, moisture allows chemical degradation. For lipids and sterols, anaerobic conditions, or antioxidants such as ascorbic acid or citric acid would likely be more important.

I suppose this is not cut and dried, and I am speculating here, but I am thinking that foods can be preserved in sugar solutions, due -- I understand -- to the effect of the sugar, which I understand is comparable to desication or drying.  

What puts me in mind of this is the mention over many years in THATHB of comparisons between dried pollen, pollen packed in layers of sugar and frozen pollen.  Apparently sugar packing of damp pollen significantly prolongs its usefullness as bee feed compared to dried pollen.

Candying is apparently a valid method of preserving many foods, and I just wonder if this applies to patties with high sugar content.

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