Fruit smoothies turning brown overnight in the fridge.
In: Chemistry
As oxygen reacts with enzymes, the enzymes turn phenolic compounds in the fruit into o-quinones, which go on to react with amino acids to produce brown secondary products.
Have you ever left a cut apple, cut banana, or cut avocado in the fridge overnight? The cut surface of all those fruits turn brown not long after they are exposed to air too. In your fruit smoothie, you have fruit (or veggies) that are chopped REALLY small.
The reaction that takes place on the surface of fruit or veggies that have been exposed to air is called oxidation. Basically, there’s a chemical in the fruit that reacts with the oxygen in the air and turns brown.
Usually, acid will help slow down this process, so if you don’t want your smoothie to turn brown, try a little lemon juice or orange juice!
It’s because of oxydation, the oxygen in the air reacts with the fruit molecules. Like when an apples goes brown. There’s oxygen in your fridge, and even if it’s cold it’s not gonna stop entirely the reaction. It’s still fine to drink it, it doesn’t mean there’s bacteria on it. The taste might be a bit different tho
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