Give Sliced Fruit A Quick Honey Water Bath To Keep Browning At Bay

Many people use a little lemon or citrus to keep sliced fruit like apples or pears from turning brown, but it turns out a mixture of honey and water is much better and keeps your fruit fresher longer. This video from our friends at America’s Test Kitchen explains why, and notes that this trick works on veggies as well.

The tip is pretty simple — soak your apples, pears or other fruit for 30 seconds in a mixture of two tablespoons of honey and one cup of water. Your fruit will stay fresh and bright for up to eight hours — perfect if you need to slice now and serve later. The video above explains why and how the process works.

If you’re curious about the science behind it, there’s a peptide compound in honey that stops the activation of polyphenol oxidase when it’s exposed to air, or the enzyme responsible for the oxidation process in fleshy fruits and veggies like apples, pears and potatoes. Give this one a try yourself. You’ll find it works very well.

How to Prevent Fruit from Browning [America’s Test Kitchen]