Nothing is more sad than a once-beautiful avocado turning brown in the refrigerator.
That guac you were going to enjoy with your dinner suddenly becomes this brown, mushy looking thing. You can psyche yourself out and tell yourself its okay to eat (because it might be), but it looks foul.
Or, you can try this trick to keep your cut avocados or guacamole from turning brown.
I learned it working at a gastropub in Malibu. We served avocados on our most popular lunch dish, a Chicken Protein Bowl. It was a Southwest dish with corn, cilantro, peppers, pepitas, cotija cheese, over a brown rice-farro mix.
We had to pre-cut the avocados for the dish. But, with pre-cutting, we had to store them well to keep them fresh as long as possible.
How did we do it?
Now, let me say, we are just adding a day, maybe two to your avocados (depends on ripeness of avocado to start). But, it’s worth that extra day or two.
The reason your guacamole is turning brown is because what is called “oxidation”. That basically means air got to it. (reference Cast Away)
The more time you expose the avocado to air, or oxygen, the more it will turn brown. So, knowing this, here is the trick.
When you make guacamole, cover it with plastic wrap or parchment, and lemon juice if you have it.
You want the parchment or plastic wrap to TOUCH the guacamole so it keeps the air out as much as possible.
If you have a tupperware with an air sealer, suction-thing, use it!
That’s it for the tip.
Keep your avocado or guacamole fresh by covering the surface with:
- plastic wrap or
- parchment
- add a squirt of lemon or lime on top if you have it
- And then seal them in a container
Hope this tip helped you out so you can enjoy your beautiful avocado a little longer.
