Why does avocado turn brown quickly?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: Enzymes oxidize when exposed
Enzymes oxidize when exposed ✓ — Correct! Avocados contain polyphenol oxidase enzyme and phenolic compounds. When cells break (cutting), these mix with oxygen from air, causing enzymatic browning—same reaction that browns apples! It's harmless but unappetizing. Lemon juice helps because acid lowers pH, slowing the enzyme. Plastic wrap prevents oxygen contact.
Natural aging process — Wrong. Browning is a specific chemical reaction (oxidation), not general aging. Intact avocados ripen without browning.
Absorbing air pollution — Wrong. Air pollution doesn't cause avocado browning. It's enzymatic oxidation from oxygen in regular air.
More Food & Nutrition questions
- Why can a little chili make food taste better?
- Even many dry Brut Champagnes receive a small sugar-and-wine dosage after sediment removal; why isn't that simply a trick to make them sweet?
- When the neck of a Champagne bottle is frozen and briefly opened during disgorgement, what actually pushes the yeast plug out?
- Before removing sediment from Champagne, why are the bottles slowly turned upside down over weeks?
- Why can Champagne gain bread-or-brioche aromas while resting on the dead yeast left after bottle fermentation?
- Why does pouring Champagne down the side of a tilted glass usually keep more fizz than splashing it straight into the middle?