Avocado lovers are being warned to avoid a common storage mistake that could make them go off in just a day. Instead, here’s a simple hack to stop them from turning brown
Avocado aficionados, listen up! Your beloved buttery fruit might be spoiling prematurely because you’re not storing it correctly. The frustration of a brown, rotten avocado is all too familiar, and it feels like chucking cash away. But if you’ve been submerging your avocados in water, following the latest social media fad, halt immediately. Health experts have issued a warning that this trendy trick could pose a health risk by encouraging bacterial growth, reports the Express.
Instead, TikTok user @fitology11 has revealed a clever method for storing both whole and halved avocados to keep them “fresh and green for longer” in a video clip.
In the footage, the expert advises: “If you store whole avocados in your crisper [fridge] drawer with a lemon, they will stay fresh for a month after you first buy them.” When subjected to chilly temperatures, the enzymes that cause ripening slow down, thereby extending the avocado’s shelf life. This is especially crucial for ripe avocados, which are already at their peak ripeness and can rapidly become overripe if left at room temperature. For those wanting to keep half an avocado as fresh as possible for “a week” longer, it should be stored in a jar with a metal lid, but this only works if the pit is still attached.
The experts elaborated: “The pit helps reduce the surface area that gets exposed to air, slowing down the browning process.” Alternatively, a splash of lemon or lime juice on the exposed flesh can help keep it fresher for longer. Citrus juice, packed with citric acid, can help prevent your avocados from turning brown by slowing down the oxidation process. When avocados come into contact with air, the enzymes in the fruit react with oxygen and cause the flesh to turn brown. The citric acid found in citrus juice acts as a barrier to these enzymes, helping to maintain the avocado’s vibrant green hue.