Why does a cut apple turn brown?
Slicing an apple changes more than its shape. Disrupted cells allow an enzyme, compounds in the fruit, and oxygen to interact, producing the familiar brown color at the cut surface.
Questions you could explore
- What changes when the tissue is cut?
- Why is color alone an incomplete test of food safety?
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- University of Wisconsin–Madison; food scientist Rich HartelCuriosities: Why do apple slices turn brown?
University of Wisconsin–Madison food scientist Rich Hartel explains the apple-browning mechanism; the linked account is an expert explanation rather than an experimental paper.
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