There's no puzzle about what is the best treat for your sweet tooth: real fruit!
But getting kids to choose fruit over the myriad other sweet temptations can be tricky. Here's a sneaky way to make an apple fun, and keep it fresh in a lunch box to boot!
Apples turn brown when they are cut because the enzymes and iron phenols in the fruit oxidize when exposed to air, basically causing the surface of the fruit to "rust." It's a protective mechanism against pests and pathogens, but doesn't really change the taste of the fruit. It's not very pleasing however, and while immersing the fruit (potatoes, bananas and pears, to name a few, are also prone to this "enzymatic bruising") in water or lemon will retard the effect, they can also make the fruit less pleasant to eat.
Try this at home!
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| take a clean apple |
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| make a cut straight across, next to the core |
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| make the same cut |
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| on each side |
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| of the apple |
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| the pieces will look like this |
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| gather them back up to reform the apple |
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| secure with a rubber band |
Voila! No oxidation!
Sante.
Posts
Brilliant! I'm going to try it tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteThis is so smart!
ReplyDeletewhy don't someone design an apple wrap instead of using a dirty rubber band?
ReplyDeleteFlipping simple, yet brilliant! This is so happening at my house now. :) Btw, found you on Pinterest. Love your blog.
ReplyDeletegreat idea!
ReplyDeleteThat's a super cool idea!
ReplyDeleteAwesome idea!
ReplyDeletenice idea! i don't like to touch rubber before i eat anything because the smell often makes me grossed out. this would work well with rotisserie rubber bands, which have no smell.
ReplyDeleteWow! Love this. I never give my son apples in his lunch, because he doesn't like whole ones, and it turns brown if I cut it up. I'm going to try this next week.
ReplyDeleteNow this is just way too cool! My girls absolutely love apples. So glad to be able to cut them up and serve them later (no lemon juice needed!) Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! Thanks for sharing - I'm excited to try this, I usually go for the lemon juice approach, but last week I ran out! So its nice to have options. ;) Love your site! Thought provoking!
ReplyDeleteFantastic! I am going to try this for my son's lunch this week!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant. I am going to do this for sure!
ReplyDeleteAmazing!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat about using an apple slicer and then wrapping the whole apple in plastic wrap? You'll need to put the rubber banded apple in something.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what I did wrong, but I tried this a couple weeks ago and the slices were brown. :(
ReplyDeletegreat idea! i have tried orange juice … nicer than lemon but not as effective, but the cuteness of this might just win Miss Fusspot over! xt
ReplyDeleteLove it! Audrey will be so excited.
ReplyDeletefound you on pinterest as well. Just tried this and was so surprised that it worked. I left it on the counter fro about 90 minutes and it was just slightly brown. I imagine a clean hair tie would be just as effective and wouldn't give that nasty rubber smell/taste on the fingers of the person who eats it. But, I agree...someone needs to start making apple koozies. I think I hear Etsy calling!
ReplyDeleteThis isn't fullproof but again helping in addition to using a ceramic knife. Acidic fruits and vegetables react to the metal ions in steel blades. If you slice something with a ceramic knife and follow with a steel blade, you can taste the difference between two slices of the same fruit.
ReplyDeleteI might try a few of those old silly bands that we have laying around instead of the rubberbands--will let you know how it works. I found you on pinterest.com, my new obsession!
ReplyDeleteFound this on Pintest, & I'm trying this tomorrow. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis is the best idea! I'm featuring it tomrorow on " My Fabulous Finds" . I love real food blogs and I am now following you. I would love it if you visited my blog and followed me back.
ReplyDeleteMy children love a variation on this theme: I cut a big and deep zig-zag line all around the apple, pull the two halves apart (then you have two "crowns", as the kids call them). Next I remove the core and put the two halves together again. Because there enters no air into the apple, there is hardly any oxidation. For an extra treat you can add a wrapped little sweet in the hollow inside.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I often want apples cut for a picnic on the go, but don't want to deal with adding lemon juice.
ReplyDeleteDip the apple wedges in pineapple juice. Just make sure every part of the wedge touches the juice or it will turn brown. I don't like pineapple juice but apples dpped in pineapple juice are delicious!!
ReplyDeleteu could always wrap the apple in a paper towel first then apply rubber band
ReplyDeleteI do this, but wrap them tightly in plastic wrap...Stretch Tight is the best because it really, really sticks to itself well. The slices still get a little bit brown, but not bad at all and my son will eat them! So it's a win!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE YOU!!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Will be sharing your post!
I use an apple slicer, as Anonymous said above. For my son who has braces, I slice the apple with the slicer, then turn it slightly and slice it again (slice quickly so the apple doesn't break up). This produces 16 thin apple slices. I then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Put the rubber band around the plastic wrap.
ReplyDeleteHere's a tip for removing the apple core quickly & cleanly before putting it back together with a rubber band, whatever... Take out that melon baller you've probably used twice and use it to scoop out the core.
ReplyDeletefabulous!
ReplyDeleteUse the rubber bands from asparagus bunches.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to just leaving the apple whole and biting into it?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteOr you can just soak a ton of slices in ginger ale for an hour or so. They don't lose taste, don't turn brown and last for days so you can portion them out for lunches.
ReplyDeleteAngela @ First Comes Baby...
When my son is at home he loves from me to turn his apples into puzzles (a little more complicated than this puzzle). He would love it if I could make his "at school apple" into a puzzle. Thank you for this awesome tip!
ReplyDeleteThis is why I started buying Gala apples, they don't seem to browen, however my son prefers Red Delicious, and this is perfect!
ReplyDeletewow, I'm giving this a try. My kids love apples and eat them sliced because of their braces. This would be perfect for their lunches.
ReplyDelete