Does allowing apples to brown before long cooking affect the final flavour?
While making an apple and smoked chilli chutney yesterday (based on the one in Jocasta Innes' Country Kitchen p.266 but hotter) I was thinking about the browning of apple flesh when exposed to air. It's easily prevented by adding acid, but the way I was weighing the fruit as I cut it meant that I didn't want to add the vinegar to the pan, and the small windfalls I was using took a while to peel/chop/pick over.
The answers to a previous question "Why prevent apples from turning brown?" suggests that the flavour is affected:
In addition to the brown color they also become mushy and have a bruised flavor -- Sobachatina
but I'm cooking them to mush anyway, and there's enough brown sugar in the recipe to change the colour, so would this negate any benefit of dipping the cut apples in acid?
Best Answer
Browning is oxidation. Oxidation has a distasteful affect to the flavor of many fruit where the star flavor profiles are acidic in nature. In apples, the two acids are malic acid and tartaric acid. Oxidation in combination with these two acids gives apples an artificial candy flavor.
Now I realize this isn't an apple example, but it is a good way to really taste what oxidation can do to fruit and fruit flavors. If you can, find some good strawberry wine (yes it does exist), and then try some cheap strawberry wine. Cheap strawberry wine tastes like strawberry candy, while good strawberry wine tastes like the refined version of the fruit. The difference is the amount of care given to avoid oxidation of the fruit and wine at all stages of the process. Strawberry wine is so easily oxidized that you need to fill chambers with nitrogen gas to keep air away from it. Cheap winemakers don't go to the trouble or additional cost since they are selling at a thinner margin.
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Does browning affect the taste of apples?
Browning is oxidation. Oxidation has a distasteful affect to the flavor of many fruit where the star flavor profiles are acidic in nature. In apples, the two acids are malic acid and tartaric acid. Oxidation in combination with these two acids gives apples an artificial candy flavor.How do you keep apples from turning brown without changing taste?
Here's the short version: The best way to prevent browning is to soak the cut fruit in a saltwater solution (half a teaspoon of kosher salt per cup of water) for 10 minutes, then drain and store until ready to use. The mild salt flavor can be rinsed off with tap water before serving.Can I cut apples ahead of time for pie?
It turns out that as the apples' cell walls rupture during baking, acids are released that partially break down the brown pigments, resulting in a lighter color. THE BOTTOM LINE: If you're going to cook apples, it's fine to prep them a day or two in advance.Can you slice apples ahead of time?
Sliced apples: Prepping and slicing beforehand makes it easier to thaw what you need for use in recipes. Peel and core the apples, then cut them into large slices. Toss the slices in lemon juice or soak them in salt water, then rinse. Freeze the slices in a single layer, and once frozen, store sealed in freezer bags.How to Keep Apples from Turning Brown in the Lunchbox + Homemade Apple Cups
More answers regarding does allowing apples to brown before long cooking affect the final flavour?
Answer 2
If you're cooking chutney it doesn't really matter for the taste nor the colour, but if you want to prevent apples from browning without adding acid while weighing for some other recipe, just stuff them into a flimsy, cheapo plastic bag¹ right after peeling and squeeze out all the air and close the bag² as it's the oxygen in the air that makes them brown.
Note¹: Good quality plastic bags like Zip-locs are harder to use in this case as it's harder to squeeze all the air out and they weigh more.
Note²: A quick swirl after squeezing out the air should do it (and that's what I do).
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Thirdman, Pixabay, Mesut çiçen, Nurlan Tortbayev