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Is there anything you can add to a guacamole recipe to prevent it from going brown so quickly? Or a specific way to package it for very short-term storage (usually only about two days). I tend to make large batches when I do make it, and by the next day its already looking pretty sad. I usually just mix it up again and it doesn't look as bad, but I figured someone may know a trick to prevent it all together

Thanks!

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    I don't know this for sure as I've never made guacamole (avocados=green bitter snot), but lemon juice (or water with some lemon juice added) prevents apples, pears, mushrooms and other fruits etc from turning brown, so it might work here as well.
    – ElendilTheTall
    Mar 29, 2011 at 20:50
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    @elendilTheTall, I don't think that will help as guacamole is already made with lime juice.
    – yossarian
    Mar 29, 2011 at 21:06
  • Evidently not enough! :) Yossarian's tip for preventing oxygen getting to the avocado should work in any case - it works for pudding (custard) in any case.
    – ElendilTheTall
    Mar 29, 2011 at 21:10
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    acid would keep it from oxidizing but it has to be in greater concentration than you would want mixed in. Perhaps spritzing the surface with lemon would work (until it was disturbed.)
    – Sobachatina
    Mar 29, 2011 at 21:16
  • See also cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/9354/…
    – Magnus Nordlander
    Mar 29, 2011 at 21:38

6 Answers 6

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Guacamole seems to go brown with exposure to air, as does avocado. While it will not solve the issue entirely, covering with cling wrap directly on the surface helps maintain color for an extended period. Rather than pulling the wrap tight across the top of a bowl / container, place the wrap directly on top of the guacamole. Use your hand to smooth out the top so that no air is between the cling wrap and guacamole. This requires a bit extra cling wrap, as you need to get it up the insides of your bowl, but it makes a significant difference.

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    Wwesome! This sounds exactly what I might have been looking for, as I typically pull the cling wrap tight across the top of the bowl!
    – Will Tate
    Mar 29, 2011 at 20:10
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    @willytate, hope you find it satisfactory. The guac will still go brown, but this slows the process noticeably.
    – yossarian
    Mar 29, 2011 at 20:24
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Lime juice should help, or any citrus. This works for apples as well.

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  • Would vinegar work?
    – Brian M. Hunt
    Mar 31, 2011 at 16:51
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    Maybe. I think it is the acid in the citrus. But citrus doesn't add the taste of vinegar...
    – Chris Haren
    Apr 2, 2011 at 5:20
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Guac - one of my favorites. First, as others have stated, make sure that you use some citrus in the recipe. Then use the cling wrap - don't pull it tight over the bowl, which traps air in the container. Lightly press the cling wrap down on the surface of the quac, eliminating air from the surface.

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interesting info thanks. I eat avocadoes regularly as a diet food. I use lots of lemon juice (1 whole lemon per avocado) and add coarsely ground sea salt and black pepper and eat it by the spoonful, yummo! Often I will only eat 1/2 of the fruit at a time. So I squeeze lemon juice all over the exposed part of the fruit with some in the well where the seed was. Then I place it in a clip lock platic bag and place in the fridge for a day or two. It works like a charm. However, the skin is still attached but not the seed. Maybe something in that ?

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I have not tried it myself, but it is always said that keeping the core of the avocado and sticking it in the middle of the guacamole prevents it from turning brown.

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  • Keeping the avocado pit does help along with covering with cling wrap, but allowing the wrap to rest on the surface---minimizing the opportunity for the air to get to the mole
    – Ray Mitchell
    Mar 30, 2011 at 22:15
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Bill Tate, I did not expect to find you here. I've found that lime juice works just fine to keep it from going too brown, in combination with the "saran wrap directly on the guac" trick. Then again, are you going to trust a guy who eat raw eggs?

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  • ray...i love you
    – Will Tate
    Mar 31, 2011 at 1:52

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