Food Science Question

Last night we made a bunch of pies. The man teaching the class was a guest and owns the Round Top Cafe in Round Top, TX. I was cutting apples for the apple pie and one of the other chefs said to put them in a bowl full of Sprite to keep them from oxidizing.

Now, I usually just go ahead and hit the prepped apples with spices and lemon juice. Any browning that takes place I don't really worry about since they will be, after all, baked in a pie. But I had never heard of soaking them in Sprite.

The chef said that since Sprite is carbonated it won't soak into the apples and will keep them from browning. It worked, at least to my eyes. But as the pies last night were prepared in a way that I don't like I chose not to taste them.

Any thoughts on this? Has anyone ever heard of soaking apples in Sprite?

Stuart, are you out there?

rwj

(Lurch voice) You rang?

It's not the carbonation. Try it with neutral seltzer water- it won't work.

The secret is in the ingredient list- there's always several sorts of acid and often preservatives/antibrowning agents. I'll betcha the ingredient list includes citric or ascorbic acid (or their salts).

You are the man, Stuart! And yes, that makes perfect sense as Sprite is a citrus beverage.

Thanks!

rwj

What Stuart said--if this works, it'll be because there's sufficient ascorbic acid to act as an antioxidant. Sprite's a lemon/lime concoction, and both of those fruits are high in ascorbate.

Your usual procedure of mixing the apples with lemon juice will also prevent browning for precisely the same reason--the ascorbate in the lemon juice.

And I agree with you completely that the browning isn't an issue, anyway, when the apples are going to be baked into a pie. The discoloration is purely a cosmetic issue, and by the time you're done with baking it won't be noticed.

I don't understand from a chemist's standpoint the chef's remark about carbonation preventing the apples from absorbing anything from the Sprite. I don't see how that would work.

-Paul W.

I don't understand from a chemist's standpoint the chef's remark about carbonation preventing the apples from absorbing anything from the Sprite. I don't see how that would work.

-Paul W.

I don't quite understand this either Paul. Like I said, the pies weren't my preferred preparation so I didn't eat them. I may have to get a can of Sprite and an apple for some experiments.

rwj

Probably Sprite (tm) is easier to keep on hand than fresh lemon juice.

But I'm with you: If it's not too much trouble then lemon juice has much going for it. (In the 1970s I read USDA information that it was the most powerful food preservative then known. Tastes better, too.)

You are the man, Stuart! And yes, that makes perfect sense as Sprite is a citrus beverage.

Yeah, it's gotta be the citrus element because what self-respecting Texan uses Sprite when Dr. Pepper is available!?

Alrighty, folks. The verdict is in. I tried a little bite of this apple pie and the apples had this horrible, horrible chemical taste to them. It took me a second to figure it out but then I remembered that the other chef soaked the apples in Sprite.

Do not, under any circumstances, ever do this to your apples. It sucks!

rwj