The Honey Hack That Prevents Fruit From Browning

It's a sad scientific truth: fruits and vegetables, like avocados and artichokes, suffer from oxidization. Bananas, apples, pears, and peaches are also some of the primary victims, with slices turning from crisp cream to dingy yellow in minutes. This is all thanks to an enzyme known as polyphenol oxidase, which reacts with oxygen to create a brown appearance. This reaction doesn't much affect the flavor of your food, but it does affect the looks of, say, a golden galette adorned with apples or a pile of French toast garnished with bananas. Still, a perfectly sweet way to avoid this brown oxidization is to give your fruit a honey bath.

With just a small amount of honey, you can transform a bowl of water into an oxidization-fighting fountain of youth. How? Honey also contains natural enzymes, but these help stop oxidization rather than cause it. Plus, this sweetened water will impart your sliced fruit with a mild honey flavor, a welcome addition to an already sweet treat. So, how should you go about creating your own honey bath for your fruit?

Read more: 13 Simple Tricks To Pick The Best Fresh Fruit Every Time

The Preserving Power Of Honey

First, start with a warm bowl of water. You need the temperature to be slightly hot so that the honey you add in can be properly dissolved. Next, add in your honey. A good ratio to go by is a couple tablespoons of honey per cup of water. Stir in the honey until it completely dissolves in the water.

Next, you'll add your sliced pears, bananas, apples, or stone fruit to the water. Let your fruit soak for 1-3 minutes, then drain it off. If you'd like to keep that delicious honey flavor, there's no need to wipe off the remaining moisture. But if you want to maintain your fruit's natural flavor unadorned, rinse and dry off the sliced fruit. This should keep your it from going brown long enough to serve or dress up whatever baking projects you have in the works. Or if you just want honey-scented apples to top your next bowl of granola. Whatever you choose, your fruit will finally look as good as it tastes.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.