Can an onion help keep your avocado from turning brown? See how it works (2024)

FAQs

Can an onion help keep your avocado from turning brown? See how it works? ›

"The onion releases sulfur, which keeps your avocado green," she said, explaining the chemical reaction that halts the oxygen from interacting with the enzymes in an avocado.

You can put your avocado half in an airtight container with a sliced onion and refrigerate it. The fumes from the onion slow down the browning process. Your avocado will stay green for at least two days, but it may absorb the onion flavor.

Onions aren't just a tasty addition to guacamole—they're naturally an avocado's BFF: Brown-Fighting Friend, that is. Onions contain sulfur compounds that, when released, slow the oxidation that causes browning. Roughly chop up a red onion, place it in an airtight container, and lay your avocado half on top.

The sulfur compounds in the onion will oxidize on the green surface of the avocado and slow down the browning process for a few more days.

"The onion releases sulfur, which keeps your avocado green," she said, explaining the chemical reaction that halts the oxygen from interacting with the enzymes in an avocado.

If your avocado is already ripe (or is getting there) you can place it in your refrigerator, where it will stay fresh for several days, depending on its level of ripeness. When putting your avocado in the fridge, it's best to store it in an airtight food storage container or in the produce/crisper drawer.

It will slow the ripening process significantly.” For times you get a hankerin' for a little sliced avocado on a sammie but can't eat the whole thing, Tomlin suggests storing the cut avocado with the seed intact in an airtight container along with a sliver of an onion.

How to Ripen an Avocado Quickly. You can speed up the avocado-ripening process with a piece of fruit. Put an avocado in a paper bag with a banana, an apple or a kiwi and fold to seal. These fruits produce ethylene gas, a plant hormone that aids ripening.

You can safely eat an avocado or guacamole that has turned brown due to oxidation, just as you could eat an apple that has undergone the same chemical reaction. However, it certainly doesn't look as appetizing when presented on a plate, and the taste may be slightly altered (read: a tad bitter).

Freezing Sliced Avocado

Izquierdo explains how to slice and freeze avocado: Cut the avocado in half and remove pit by gently working a spoon underneath it. Peel off skin, cut avocado flesh into slices or cubes as desired. Gently brush slices or cubes with a little lime or lemon juice to help prevent browning.

What can I use instead of lemon to stop avocado going brown? ›

Add pineapple juice

As with lemon juice, coating your avocado with pineapple juice may keep it from turning brown.

Easiest Method: Coat with Avocado Oil

We sprayed the surface of a cut avocado with avocado oil olive oil works here, too) before storing in an airtight container in the fridge. Not only was this hack fast and easy, it actually kept the avocado in the best shape through the five-day test.

Fresh and ready avocado halves are a sight to behold. But they won't stay that way for long. To keep them from turning brown, seal the flesh with a sprinkle of lemon juice, lime juice, or olive oil, then tightly wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

The main goal is to prevent oxygen from touching the avocado's flesh. Plastic wrap is a practical, albeit not foolproof way to slow down the natural course of fruit aging. The trick is to make sure the plastic wrap is sealed flush with the flesh.