Don’t you just hate it when you cut up an apple, pear, avocado, banana, etc. and it turns brown in just minutes? It makes it tough to prepare your ingredients ahead of time (make your mise-en-place). So, why does this happen and how can you stop it?

The quick answer is: spray the cut fruit or vegetables with lemon juice to slow the browning reaction. (Spraying the lemon instead of squeezing the juice also helps prevent overpowering the fruit with the taste of lemon!)

Here’s why it works, from Home Science Tools:

Many fruits and vegetables brown when they are cut or bruised because of a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. When an apple, for example, is cut open, an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase is released from the cells of the apple and reacts with the oxygen in the air. This reaction causes the fruit to turn brown, similar to rust forming on metal.

When the citrus comes into contact with the fruit, it acts as an antioxidant: slowing the browning reaction. Lemon juice helps keep the apple from browning because lemon juice is full of ascorbic acid, which reacts with oxygen before the oxygen can react with the polyphenol oxidase in the apple. Note that, over time, the fruit will still slowly turn brown.