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Is there anything we can add to our chill water to prevent celery sticks from turning white or brown?

Question

Do you know of anything we can add to our chill water used to rinse our celery sticks after cutting to preserve the ends from turning white or brown? (D.J.)

Answer

If you want to prevent enzymatic browning, you can use an anti-browning agent, the whiteness is more a question of dehydration. I wrote a book chapter on this with Elisabeth Garcia, and you can find it at our postharvest website (see below) and at this exact location: http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/libraries/publications/?ds=234&reportnumber=204&catcol=1809&categorysearch=Fresh-cut%20Vegetables–Diane Barrett