Keep smoothies longer

Smoothies are easy to make, and when you use healthy ingredients, they're also incredibly nutritious. The only downside is that smoothies quickly turn brown when stored. That once-healthy smoothie no longer looks so healthy and tasty.

A trick to keep your smoothie fresh longer is to add a little lemon juice. This will prevent the brown color. But why does your smoothie turn brown? Why does lemon juice help, and are there other things you can do to keep your smoothie tasty and healthy?

Why do my smoothies change color?

Cutting fruit or making a smoothie in a blender destroys the fruit's cells. The same thing happens when you drop fruit, bump it, or mix it with other things.

When the cells break down, an oxidation reaction begins. It's essentially the same as rusting. The reaction causes several substances that previously provided those attractive colors, or were colorless, to turn brown. This happens with both cut and bruised fruit. The bruised spots on apples or bananas are caused by the same oxidation process.

This entire process is a natural defense mechanism for the plant. The substances released and reacting with oxygen are normally there to ward off insects and microbes. This process occurs in almost all types of fruits and vegetables, but it's not always easily visible.

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Does a brown smoothie have lower nutritional value?

Cut vegetables lose their nutritional value faster than uncut produce. With cut fruit, the brown color is purely a surface reaction, as only the cut cells will discolor. If you use a blender, the cellular structure of the fruit or vegetable is completely severed. That's why a smoothie discolors so incredibly quickly.

The cells responsible for the discoloration aren't harmful at all. The discoloration doesn't really affect the taste either. It does, however, make your healthy smoothie look completely unappealing. And since we also eat with our eyes, the brown color indirectly affects how you experience the smoothie.

Prevent your smoothies from turning brown

There are four ways you can normally slow down or even stop the oxidation process.

1. Heating
2. Limit oxygen
3. Add preservatives
4. Add acid

We can immediately rule out heating and adding preservatives. Of course, the goal with a smoothie isn't to heat the fruit. The food industry often adds preservatives to prevent discoloration, such as sulfur dioxide (E220). That's also simply not feasible for us as home smoothie makers.

And then there are two options left: add acid and limit oxygen .

Add acid to smoothie to prevent discoloration

Acid can act as an antioxidant. To slow down the browning process in your smoothie, you can add some lemon juice. Making a smoothie completely destroys the fruit's cell structures. Therefore, to prevent browning, you'll need to use a considerable amount of lemon juice. If you prefer sweeter smoothies, you'll need to add sugar or another sweetener. This will make your healthy smoothie unhealthier. Fortunately, there's another way to prevent your smoothie from oxidizing.

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Vacuum-packed smoothie

We've already explained that the brown discoloration in your smoothie is due to oxidation. Oxygenium is Latin for oxygen, and the less your fresh smoothie comes into contact with oxygen, the less it will discolor. Keeping your smoothie in a sealed bottle won't make much difference. As soon as you put the cap back on, there's still oxygen in the bottle. So you really need to remove the air from the smoothie. You can do this by vacuum-sealing the smoothie.

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Store smoothies and juice in a vacuum cup

When your smoothie comes into contact with air, its quality quickly deteriorates. If you want to keep smoothies delicious and healthy for longer, the only way to do so is to ensure they don't come into contact with oxygen.

A vacuum-sealed cup is the perfect way to keep your homemade smoothie delicious and healthy for longer. After blending, pour the smoothie into the cup. The special lid ensures a leak-proof, airtight seal. All that needs to be done now is to remove the air from the cup: vacuum it. To vacuum-seal the smoothie, we use a compact vacuum sealer that fits perfectly on the special lid. All the air is sucked out of the cup by the vacuum pump , ensuring your smoothie stays fresh for days.

The vacuum cups are 100% BPA and BPS-free. In fact, Tritan plastic contains no bisphenols at all. Regular plastic containers can leak under the influence of the acid found in fruit. Smoothie cups made of Tritan don't leak. The material is as hard as glass, but scratch- and drop-resistant. These plastic smoothie cups are unbreakable and therefore a much better alternative than glass mason jars—you know, those glass jars with lids, sometimes with a handle and straw. The vacuum cups are also completely leak-proof, so you can easily take them with you, for example, to work. Just make sure you keep the smoothies refrigerated, because if they get too warm, they will quickly deteriorate.

Store smoothie or juice in the blender jar

The vacuum pump also fits most blenders in our range. You can use it to vacuum seal the contents of the blender jar. This is handy when you're making a whole jar of juice or smoothie at once. This way, you can enjoy fresh homemade smoothies all day long. Just be sure to store the blender jar in the refrigerator.

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How do you keep a smoothie good?

As soon as your smoothie comes into contact with oxygen, its quality deteriorates. To keep the drink tasty, you'll need to ensure it doesn't come into contact with too much air. Vacuum-sealing a smoothie is the only solution. Use a vacuum-sealed cup with a vacuum pump, or choose a blender with a vacuum-sealing jug.