How to Keep Cut Fruit Fresh

There are few foods more refreshing, healthful and invigorating then fresh cut fruit. The key once the fruit has been cut is to keep it fresh and visually appealing. Once fresh sliced fruit is exposed to oxygen, it starts to brown. This process can turn bright fresh sliced bananas into disgusting brown blobs. To prevent fruit from rapidly becoming brown, unappealing and in need of disposal takes only a minute with the help of fresh orange juice. The citric acid in orange juice acts as a natural preservative for fresh fruits. It prevents browning and helps maintain visually appealing food.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cutting board
• Knife
• Spoon
• Large bowl
• Fresh orange juice

1. Wash all fruit under cold tap water to remove dust, dirt and residue. Clean fruit will remain fresh longer.

2. Pat the fruit dry with a clean hand towel, cloth, or paper towel. The fruit does not need to be completely dry, but remove excess water to avoid adulterating the fruit mix with water, which can negatively alter flavor especially if tap water is used to wash the fruit.

3. Prepare all the fruit being used by peeling, slicing and removing seeds as necessary. Different fruits will require different methods and levels of preparation. For instance, strawberries require cutting the green stem area off and slicing, while bananas need to be peeled and sliced. Melons like cantaloupe and honeydew need to have the seeds and skin removed and to be sliced or cubed.

4. Place all prepared fresh fruit in a large mixing bowl. Turn fruit medley over in bowl several times to mix together using a spoon.

5. Pour enough fresh orange juice into the fruit mixture in order to evenly coat all the fruit, but not so much that a large pool of juice forms in the bottom of the bowl and a significant portion of fruit is submerged. Only a small amount of juice is required to seal in freshness; perhaps a quarter of a cup of juice will suffice for all but the largest fruit salads.

6. Mix the fruit medley gently with a spoon so that all the fruit gets coated with the fresh orange juice.

Tips & Warnings

• Prepare the fruit first that holds up the best after being sliced and exposed to air. For instance, apples and bananas brown fairly quickly once they are sliced open and exposed to oxygen and so should be prepared, sliced, and added to the medley last. Melons, berries and pineapple hold up well once sliced and should be prepared, sliced and added to the medley first.
• Avoid mixing the freshly prepared fruit excessively in order to prevent bruising and damaging the fruit. Too much mixing can result in a bowl full of battered fruit that is not only unappealing to the eye, but has a slimy and mushy texture that renders it unappealing to eat.

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