How to Keep Avocados from Turning Brown
If you often find yourself using avocado in your recipes, you should know how hard it can be to keep avocados from turning brown. Avocados are a highly nutritious fruit with a creamy texture that adds delicious flavour to everything from guacamole to smoothies. Unfortunately, avocados go bad pretty quickly. For example, when you cut open an avocado and leave it out on the shelf, it will lose its green colour and turn brown within a couple hours. The big question is: How long can you store cut avocados? In order to keep them fresh longer, there are a few preparation techniques that you can use to slow the ripening process.
Store avocados in the refrigerator
Avocado is a nutritious food that contains many vitamins and nutrients. Avocado is also rich in protein, monounsaturated fats and antioxidants like vitamin E, making it a superfood that should be included in your diet every day.
But if you don’t know how to store avocados properly, they will turn brown quickly after being cut open. This happens because of oxidation, which is triggered by exposure to air and light.
Storing Avocado in the Refrigerator
If you want to keep avocados fresh for longer, then you should store them in the refrigerator. You can also put them in an airtight container or wrap them tightly with plastic wrap before putting them into the fridge. If you don’t have any paper towels on hand, then you can use tissue paper instead of paper towels as well.
If you want to save some avocado slices for later use, then place them on a plate covered with plastic wrap or lid of an old yogurt container and place it inside the fridge for about 15 minutes before serving it again.
Buy hard avocados and let them ripen at room temperature
Avocados are one of the most popular fruits out there, but if you’re anything like us, you tend to buy too many and end up with a few browning avocados.
Buy hard avocados and let them ripen at room temperature. Avocado should have a slight give when you press on it with your thumb, but don’t pick one that’s so soft that it yields all the way down to the pit. Once ripe, store them in the refrigerator.
To speed up avocado ripening, place an avocado in a paper bag with an apple or banana overnight. This will help release ethylene gas (which triggers ripening)
into the bag.
When cutting open an avocado for use immediately, sprinkle some lemon juice over top and cover tightly with plastic wrap before storing it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Store cut avocado in the freezer
If you have some extra avocado and want to store it for a few days, then freezing is the best option. Simply wash and dry the avocado, then peel off its skin. Slice the avocado into halves or cubes and freeze them in an airtight container or bag. Frozen avocado can be used in smoothies, guacamole, salad dressings and more!
Keep your hands away from the cut edges
The main reason why avocados turn brown so quickly is due to oxidation. Oxidation occurs when oxygen reacts with certain substances causing them to change colour or become rancid. Oxidation happens more quickly when exposed to air and even more so if hands come into contact with them (which happens more often than we realize). So, make sure not to touch the cut edges of avocado with your hands after cutting them open because this will speed up oxidation process even more! Also avoid using utensils such as tongs or utensils which will get bacteria on them from other foods.
Store cut avocados with citrus fruits
The key to keeping your avocado from oxidizing is preventing exposure to oxygen. You can do this by storing cut avocados together with citrus fruits such as grapefruits or lemons. The fruits have an antioxidant called limonene that will keep your avocado from turning brown for up to two days after being cut.
Use Vinegar or Lemon Juice
You can also add a little vinegar or lemon juice to your bowl of cut avocados in order to slow down the oxidation process. The acidity of these liquids will help prevent them from turning brown more quickly than they normally would on their own without any help at all. To use this method, simply drizzle some vinegar or lemon juice over your bowl of sliced avocado before serving if you don’t want any other flavours interfering.
Additional ways to slow avocados from turning brown
Avocados are best used as soon as possible, but they can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days. If you’re storing an avocado that’s not ripe yet, keep it in a dark place at room temperature. When it’s ready to eat, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to a week.
If you want to make guacamole with your avocados or use them in any recipe that requires adding lime juice, try covering them with citrus fruit like lemons or limes. The citric acid helps prevent browning and keeps your avocado from oxidizing too quickly.
Here are some other ways to store avocados:
Wrap your avocado tightly in plastic wrap or keep it in a sealed container with a piece of bread. This will help trap the ethylene gas that causes fruit to ripen so it doesn’t prematurely spoil your avocados.
Put another layer of plastic wrap over the top of the avocado if you’re using a paper bag as storage because paper bags allow air inside of them and can cause fruit to ripen faster than normal.
