THE ONLY WAY TO STOP AVOCADOS FROM BROWNING QUICKLY
The only way to stop avocados from browning quickly
Nothing can kill the mood faster than getting ready to enjoy the perfect avocado only to find out that it has turned into brown in the eyes. Despite your efforts to eat avocados as soon as possible to avoid this bad situation, preventing browning still seems to be futile. However, with the help of a few smart tips, extending the freshness of your favorite greens is easier than you think.
Fortunately, there are safe ways to help slow down the aging process so you don’t have to eat guacamole for a week straight.
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How to stop avocados from rotting
To prevent avocados from rotting, consider the best conditions for ripening avocados. If they are rock hard and you want them to ripen as quickly as possible, putting them in a paper bag with ripe fruit on your table is the best way to speed things up.
That’s because, climacteric fruit (that is, fruit that continues to ripen after being picked) produces a colorless and odorless gas called ethylene.
As ethylene levels increase in climacteric fruits, they grow better. Exposing unripe fruits like avocados to ripe fruit that emits a lot of ethylene helps increase ethylene levels in the unripe fruit, causing it to soften more quickly. Other examples of climatic fruits include bananas, apples, peaches, tomatoes and mangoes.
To prevent avocados from rotting, or to slow their ripening process, do the opposite of the above method: store them in the refrigerator, away from any climacteric fruit, especially mature ones. This will delay the ripening process of the unripe avocados and help keep the avocados in their current state for a day or two. It’s a good idea to keep checking the ripeness of your avocados if you can, even after they’ve been refrigerated, to make sure they haven’t ripen past their prime.
It should be noted, that avocados are best ripened slowly at temperatures between 60° and 70° F for the best appearance and flavor. But if you have more avocados than you can eat, go ahead and throw them in your fridge to save time.
How to store avocados in the freezer
If you can’t stop the ripening process and have more ripe avocados than you can eat, don’t worry: you can still enjoy them without switching to an avocado-only diet.
To do this, mash all your ripe avocados, then add one tablespoon of lemon juice for every two avocados. Transfer this mixture into resealable containers, leaving a little head to allow the avocado to expand once frozen without cracking or opening the container. Write down the date of your containers and make sure you use them within 12 months.
Since avocados will change a bit once thawed, I would recommend using them with other nutrients rather than eating them as they are, such as spooned over a bowl of cereal or with salt and pepper and toast. Instead, mix it into smoothies, salsas or salad dressings, or use it as your favorite flavoring agent.
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How to make avocados fresh (and stop them from browning)
1. Place a pit in the avocado
Contrary to popular belief, keeping avocado pits inside during storage does not prevent discoloration. As mentioned earlier, oxygen plays the most important role in darkening the color of the fruit. Although a pit can protect the immediate surroundings from the wind, it will not protect other objects from the color change. Our tests showed that after a few hours, the surface started to turn brown and gray, listing the “pit system” as the worst among those tested.
2. Store cut avocados in water
Since oxygen can quickly damage the surface of an avocado, finding ways to create a barrier to prevent this from happening can help make the fruit last longer. One way to do this is to keep the avocado in water so that the air does not touch the surface.
3. Wrap the top of the avocado in cling wrap
One of the oldest ways to prevent avocados from browning is to wrap the exposed surface of the avocado with plastic wrap to reduce oxygen. However, the problem is to make the edible film rest perfectly on the surface without creating any gaps or air pockets. After a day and a half, the avocado started to rust on all exposed parts.
However, it is important to mention that this method has proven to be effective in keeping guacamole for a long time. When you store, gently press the cling film over the mixture in a bowl or bag to remove all the air. This process took a long time to keep the guac from browning for up to two days. Plus, once you’re ready to eat it, don’t forget to try this awesome avocado cutting method that ensures no piece goes to waste. After all, don’t we want to enjoy all the healthy benefits of avocados?
4. Store your avocado with a few slices of onion
Storing avocados, open at the top, on top of a few sliced onions, can help with browning. The onion releases a sulfur compound that acts as a natural preservative to help keep the avocado longer (about two days). The key to success with this recipe is to store both in an airtight container to ensure that the sulfur in the onion can work its magic. Although we didn’t find the onion flavor overwhelming in the avocado, you might like this recipe if you use avocado in a savory dish or smoothie.
5. Use lemon or lime juice as an antidote
Adding a little lemon to cut avocados can help prevent discoloration. It is necessary to store it in a way that reduces oxygen. Because of the ascorbic acid (aka vitamin C) found in lemon or lime juice, adding citrus and open avocado helps to create an oxygen barrier that reduces oxidation.
By reacting with the acid in the drink, the oxygen slows down the chemical reaction and prevents browning for a few days. Although this method can add a little flavor, it keeps our avocados warm and fresh for about two days, making it the most effective we’ve tried.
(Similarly, you can apply the same method by applying a little olive oil to protect the surface from oxygen, but this will only work for about a day.)
