Ascorbate

[ralphmelton]

For an appetizer for Christmas dinner, we bought pre-cut apple slices to serve with caramel dip. The ingredients list said, "calcium ascorbate added to preserve freshness".

It's now January 18, and we haven't gotten around to throwing out the apple slices. And they haven't turned brown at all. It's downright spooky.

Comments

[dvarin.livejournal.com]

It's the anti-oxidant thing.
Just think, if you saturate yourself with anti-oxidants, then you'll be just like the apples! (Or so goes the theory...)

[echoweaver.livejournal.com]

Wow. That has me a sort of awe.

[indigodove.livejournal.com]

We're a little afraid to eat them now. That's just not natural...

[mg4h.livejournal.com]

Ascorbate is just vitamin c - an acid, which is what prevents the browning. The calcium part is also natural.

It's only unnatural in that you won't find it in nature. Aside from that - hey, you don't want them, I'll eat 'em ;) So long as they were kept either sealed in the original package or refrigerated, they should be fine.