Salt water beats lemon juice for keeping apple slices fresh

A 10-minute salt water soak does a better job than lemon juice at keeping sliced apples and pears from browning in a lunch box.

The browning comes from an enzyme in the fruit reacting with oxygen. Lemon juice works because its acid deactivates that enzyme. Salt does the same thing, without making your fruit taste like a salad dressing. The key is to use enough salt and then rinse it off so you don’t end up with salty fruit.

Just mix ½ teaspoon of salt into a cup of cool water. Drop in your apple or pear slices, let them sit for 10 minutes, then rinse them with plain water and pat them dry. That’s it — no flavor changes, no weird additives, and the slices will stay pale for hours. Pack them in the box as usual.

If you forgot the soak, a sheet of plastic wrap pressed tightly against the cut surface works as a backup. But for a lunch box you can prep the night before, the salt brine is the easiest trick you’re not using yet. It also works for avocado and potatoes, so it’s a pretty good trick to know.

Future you won’t be fishing brown apple slices out of a thermos.