161 | Eating Plant-Based: What’s the Best Way To Keep Pears From Browning? [Community Question]

Today on the podcast, I want to address a question I saw recently posted in an online community group.

A lady wrote, "How do you keep pears from browning?" When I read that, I knew I needed to answer it on this podcast because this is such a common issue many can face in the kitchen when working with fresh fruit, but one with some simple solutions.

So let's look more into this now.

First, why do the pear or apple slices brown so quickly after cutting in the first place? Well, during the cutting process, fruit cells are ruptured.

This then allows the oxygen of the air to mix and react with specific enzymes within the fruit substrate, such as polyphenol oxidase and peroxidases causing oxidative browning reactions.

The speed of this browning process can depend on a few factors, such as the variety of the apple or pear in question, as well as its stage of ripeness.

For example, the riper a pear is, the faster it will brown once cut.

So while it's a natural enzymatic reaction causing the browning, this natural process can create a visual issue as the brown slices don't look as appetizing anymore.

The nutritional quality, flavor and shelf life of the fruit are also negatively impacted and this can all potentially lead to a bigger food wastage issue down the line if the discolored fruit pieces are simply deemed bad then thrown away.

Is this what you do? I know my children can sometimes be picky in this way and complain a bit when asked to eat a piece of fruit with some light brown spots on it because it just doesn't look as fresh.

So what can be done to slow down this browning process? Well, lots, but in this episode I want to touch on three simple hacks you can use.