Even though our pears ended up baked to
a brown color, we didn’t want them to
oxidize before baking. Photo by Louis
Hiemstra | IST.

Our first project was pear tarts. As we fanned the pears, the phone rang; we ended up chatting for awhile and the pears began to oxidize (turn brown).

Most of us have been taught to squeeze lemon juice over the exposed flesh of a cut fruit or vegetable to slow the browning process. You can also sprinkle fruits and veggies with ascorbic acid (vitamin C powder).

But we took another route: acidulated water, which is water mixed with an acidic liquid. It works much better than trying to toss a fanned pear with lemon juice while keeping the slices intact.

Instead of squeezing lemon juice onto the fruit, add two tablespoons of lemon juice, wine (red or white), or vinegar (red, white or cider) to one quart of water.

We whipped up a batch and dipped the pears into it—while still on the phone. It’s a great technique if you have a good amount of fruit to protect.