This Simple Trick Will Keep Your Apples from Turning Brown (2024)

We love apples every which way—from warm apple pie to fresh apple slices for an after-school snack. But if you're looking to prepare your apple desserts in advance or you simply want to cut up an apple for a seasonal charcuterie board, you'll likely be faced with the inevitable irritation of brown apples! Even during apple season, those freshly picked apples are subject to turning brown after you slice them. Why does it happen and how can you prevent it? Here, learn more about how to keep apples from turning brown.

First, a quick chemistry lesson! The reason why apples turn brown after they're cut is because the inside of the apple contains a chemical called polyphenol oxidase (PPO). When exposed to air, oxidation occurs which causes the apples to become discolored. In a nutshell, once you cut the apples, there's no way to prevent those beautiful, crisp slices from turning brown, but you can slow down the process by taking the proper steps! Read on for the best methods to keep apples from turning brown. Then, go ahead and make that fall harvest bowl with apples or any one of your favorite apple recipes!

Out of all the methods on this list, soaking apples in salt water is one of the most popular choices for preventing browning. Don’t worry, it won’t make your apples salty! Just add a pinch of salt to a bowl of water; add your apple slices and let sit for about 5 minutes before draining. Since salt is a natural preservative, it’ll protect the apple from oxidation. You can rinse the apples off with fresh water before eating, if desired.

The combination of honey and water is another method commonly used to prevent browning. This time, your apple slices are added to a bowl with 1 tablespoon of honey and 1 cup of water. After about 5 minutes of soaking, the apples can be drained and rinsed. This method works due to a natural chemical in honey that prevents browning.

If you have fresh lemons laying around, then you might prefer this quick and easy method. Just squeeze a half lemon over your apple slices and let the high acidity from the lemon juice do the work! The apple will eventually brown quicker than using salt water or honey water, but it can work when in a pinch.

Crack open a can of lemon-lime soda for this next method that might just surprise you! Many lemon-lime sodas (or even ginger ale) contain citric acid which can slow down the discoloration process. Just soak the apple slices in the soda for about 5 minutes and drain.

This method is a last resort if you don’t happen to have salt, lemon, soda, or honey available, but it’ll still work wonders for keeping your apples fresh for a shorter period of time. Just place your cut-up apple in a simple bowl of cold water to prevent the flesh of the apple from becoming exposed to oxygen. This method is great if you simply want to keep the apples white while you prep your other ingredients (say in an apple pie!).