Skip the lemon: salt water keeps apples from browning

A quick soak in salt water keeps cut apples and pears from browning better than lemon juice, and it won’t make them taste salty. The salt deactivates the enzyme that causes browning, and it doesn’t leave a citrus flavor behind.

Here’s how: dissolve about ½ teaspoon of salt in a cup of water, soak the slices for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse them. Pat dry before packing. That’s it. They’ll stay pale until lunch.

Honey water (1–2 tablespoons per cup) also works, but it’s stickier and you have to use more. Ascorbic acid powder (the stuff in commercial “fruit fresh”) is the cleanest solution if you have it, but salt is something you already own.

One more lunch-box trick: cut the apple into wedges, then press it back together and wrap with a rubber band. No exposure, no browning, no soaking.

Salt water is cheap, foolproof, and your kid will never notice the difference.