We’ve all had those times when we created a big bowl of delicious guacamole only to have some leftovers after a food fiesta. Normally keeping leftovers is a no brainer – place them in an air tight container in the fridge.
However, guacamole is notorious for turning brown over time. Some people toss their tasty guacamole instead of saving it since “it’s just going to turn brown and go bad overnight.”
Instead of tossing our precious guacamole, let’s cover how we can save this tasty treat for the next day.
So can we eat brown guacamole?
Brown guacamole is safe to eat. Guacamole and avocados turn brown when exposed to air due to oxidation. The brown color is a sign that the guacamole is not freshly made and the brown gauc may taste slightly bitter. However, you can remove the top brown layer to reveal a fresher and greener guacamole underneath or you can stir it all in. Having a brown top layer of guacamole is normal when storing it in the fridge overnight.
If your guacamole smells funky, is completely brown even underneath, or has brown liquid then toss it out. When a big bowl of guacamole is completely brown then it is too old to eat.
If you only have a little bit of guacamole left then all of it may turn brown overnight. This guacamole will still be safe to eat.
What Causes Guacamole To Turn Brown?
Avocados and guacamole that are not exposed to the air will not turn brown. This is why you’re greeted with a beautiful green color when you open a fresh avocado.
However, an opened avocado will start to turn brown if left exposed to the air for a few hours. You may also notice that avocados with cuts in their skin will have brown and soft spots near the cut.
So exposure to the air is what causes avocados and guacamole to turn brown.
The good news is that avocados and guacamole are still safe to eat even when it has turned brown. However, if you open a new avocado and the color is already brown then this is not a good avocado to use for guacamole.
How To Make Guacamole Last Longer?
So how do we make guacamole last longer if we have some extra we want to save? Knowing that guacamole turns brown due to oxidation from air means we need to keep air away from our gauc.
Here are a few methods which help preserve the freshness of guacamole.
Covering Guacamole In A Layer Of Water
Now this seems like such a strange method to keep guacamole fresh but it’s one of the best methods for keeping your guac that beautiful green color in the fridge.
Here are the steps for properly covering guacamole in water:
- Place your guacamole in a bowl with extra room on the top
- Gently fill the bowl with water so that there is half an inch of water on top of the guac
- Cover the bowl with plastic saran wrap or lid to help prevent the water from spilling
- Place bowl into refrigerator
Before eating your guacamole covered in water you need to gently pour out any excess water. Stir the guac to mix in any extra liquid that’s still on top and dig in!
This is the best method for keeping the gaucamole fresh since it keeps air away from your gauc. A layer of water will not allow any air to touch your gaucamole.
The gaucamole should stay fresh for up to 2 days in the refrigerator with this method. However, my guacamole barely lasts until the next day so this shouldn’t be a problem if you’re a gauc lover like me!
Covering Guacamole With Lemon or Lime Juice
Before learning about the water method, I always squeezed lemon or lime juice in my guacamole to help it last longer.
I noticed that guac covered or mixed with citrus juice always lasted longer than regular guacamole.
The reason is that citric acid has antimicrobial properties that help prevent bacteria growth and slow down ripening. Similar to the water method, mixing in juice also helps keep the guacamole away from the air.
Although not as effective as the water method, mixing in lemon or lime juice adds a nice tang to your guacamole and helps it last longer.
Guacamole Preservation Methods That Do Not Work
There are some common myths about keeping guacamole fresh that we should debunk.
I was told these methods when trying to figure out how to keep my guacamole fresh for the next day and these ones did not work.
Placing The Avocado Pit In The Guacamole
For some reason people believe that the avocado pit is what keeps the avocado green instead of the skin. I think this might have started as a commonly believed myth since an opened avocado usually have lighter green flesh by the pit.
However, this method does not work at keeping guacamole fresh.
If you place an avocado pit on top of guacamole then all the guacamole that’s exposed to the air will turn brown. The only guacamole that will stay green is the spot underneath the pit since it’s kept away from the air.
Covering The Guacamole In Avocado Peels
Another rumor that has spread around is that covering guacamole in the avocado skin will keep it fresh. This myth makes sense if you think about how a freshly opened avocado is green so the skin must do something to keep it fresh.
Unfortunately, this method does not work unless you create an air tight barrier with the avocado peels over the guacamole.
The only way this method works is if it does the same thing the water method does which is keep the guacamole away from the air.
However, just throwing avocado skin peels over the top of the guacamole will not keep it fresh.
