Michael Symon's Pro-Tips To Keep Avocado Halves Green
Avocados are great for much more than toast. From breakfast burritos to poke bowls, this fruit adds a buttery-smooth texture and nutrients like vitamin B6, magnesium, and potassium to all sorts of dishes. The only downside is that a cut avocado can be troublesome to store — like apples and bananas, the flesh under the peel begins to brown once sliced, going from bright green and firm to a dull, mushy mess.
Many home cooks try their best to halt this process, formally known as enzymatic browning, but with little success. Fortunately, chef and restauranteur Michael Symon has some easy solutions. In a video shared by Food Network on X, formerly Twitter, Symon spilled his secrets for keeping avocado halves green: Leave the avocado pit in, rub the flesh with an acidic fruit juice, and wrap your leftovers tightly in foil. Together, these steps help to stop (or at least slow) the browning.
Wondering how this works? The answer lies in limiting oxygen exposure. When the cells in the avocado's flesh are damaged via cutting, an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase is exposed to the air, resulting in oxidization and browning. Symon's tips serve to neutralize the enzyme and limit oxygen's contact with the avocado flesh. Here's what you should know to achieve the best and brightest results with his tips.
The three steps to slow browning in sliced avocados
Storing half an avocado without browning is tricky business, but Michael Symon's methods work better than most. Some cooks opt to store avocado halves next to cut onions, while others place the fruit cut-side down in water before storing. While these options might slow browning, they can affect the fruit's flavor and texture, trading one unappetizing feature for another. You just need to keep a few other things in mind for best results.
The first step comes before cooking. If you slice an avocado (preferably with a non-metal knife) and plan to only eat half, set aside the half with the pit for storage. When left in, the big brown seed covers part of the fruit's flesh, which prevents said flesh from browning due to zero contact with oxygen. On its own, this method won't slow the oxidation of the entire avocado half, but it's a good start.
As for the part that isn't protected by the pit, break out some citrus juice. The citric acid in a spritz or two of lime or lemon juice denatures the enzyme that causes brown discoloration (on that note, this can also prevent sliced bananas from browning). Finally, you'll want to tightly wrap the avocado in aluminum foil before sticking it in the fridge, which keeps oxygen away from the flesh. Using Symon's tips, the cut fruit should stay green for about three to four days.