How to Stop Cut Fruit from Browning

Cut an apple, a pear or a banana and within minutes the surface starts to turn brown. Nobody wants to eat it, and nobody wants to throw it away either.

The cause is an enzyme in the fruit reacting with oxygen the moment the flesh is exposed. Slow that reaction down and the fruit stays looking the way it did when you cut it.

Two things in every kitchen will do it: lemon and honey.

The method

Stir 1 tablespoon of honey into 1 tablespoon of warm water until dissolved.

Add a few drops of lemon juice and mix.

Spoon the mixture over the cut fruit, turning the pieces so every surface is coated.

Leave for 2 to 3 minutes, then drain off whatever is left if you prefer.

Why it works

The acid in lemon juice lowers the pH on the surface of the fruit, and the enzyme responsible for browning works poorly in acidic conditions. Vitamin C helps too, by reacting with oxygen before the fruit can.

Honey adds something lemon alone does not. It contains compounds that interfere with the same enzyme directly, and it does it without making the fruit taste sharp — which is the drawback of using lemon on its own.

What to expect

This slows browning, it does not stop it permanently. Cut fruit is still best eaten within a couple of hours.

Keep it covered and refrigerated in the meantime. Air is what drives the reaction, so the less surface exposed, the better — an airtight container does nearly as much work as the honey and lemon.

Chef’s note

For a fruit salad you are serving later, cut the firmest fruit first — apples, pears — and treat them immediately. Leave bananas until the last minute regardless; they brown faster than anything else and no treatment holds them for long.