A squeeze of lemon juice on a cut avocado lowers the fruit's pH and delays enzymatic browning for a day or two by using citric and ascorbic acids. Browning begins when the avocado's pH reaches about five, so acidifying the surface helps maintain green color. Keeping the avocado away from oxygen amplifies the effect; store the lemon-treated avocado in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic and refrigerate. Lemon also imparts a subtle zesty flavor, so use treated avocados in recipes that welcome lemon, and avoid adding so much juice that the texture becomes mushy.
When we say to keep your avocados with lemon, we don't mean placing the two side-by-side in a bag the way people do to get fruits to ripen faster. Rather, a squeeze of lemon juice will help the green, ripe avocado delay the browning process it eventually undergoes after it's been cut and exposed to air. When avocados experience oxidation, their enzymes interact with the air and eventually break down, leading to a brown coloring.
Enzymatic browning begins when the fruit's pH level is five, but lemon juice can delay this for a day or two. The liquid's citric and ascorbic acids lower the avocado's pH level, helping to keep the buttery fruit green. Lowering their pH level is the best way to keep avocados fresh, but it's important to keep them away from oxygen, too. After squeezing some fresh lemon juice onto the cut avocado, keep it in an airtight container or seal it tightly with plastic wrap
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