The Creamy Ingredient That Will Keep Your Guacamole Green

No one wants to dig into brown guacamole. While a coffee-colored avocado isn't always a sign that the fruit has gone bad, it's still just not as appetizing to eat — and we eat with our eyes first, after all. Considering some foods, like ground beef and bananas, do eventually spoil after turning brown, it's easy for us to assume the same thing is happening when we see those hints of brown avocado flesh creeping in.

However, it is typically safe to eat a brown avocado. The problem is that unlike ground beef and bananas, they turn brown extremely quickly, usually within just a few hours of being cut open. But we don't always need to use the whole avocado at once — so to solve the eternal dilemma of keeping your second half of the fruit green, there are a plethora of tips out there. You can try keeping it in an airtight container, placing it next to an onion, or drowning it in coconut water.

If you're deploying your avocado in guacamole, you need something that you can incorporate into your dish. One of the most popular tricks is to mix lemon or lime juice into your guacamole, which will not only add a burst of acidic flavor, but will keep your bowl looking fresh for longer. But to add creaminess and preserve its green color, try using this tasty ingredient.

Sure, guacamole is creamy on its own — but when you add sour cream, you amp up the silkiness of the dip even more. You don't need much, as even a few tablespoons of the stuff will do. Not only does it enhance your guacamole's texture, but it will add a little tang that doesn't veer on overwhelming.

But that's not the only way sour cream is an asset here. Instead of mixing it in with the other ingredients, try spreading it over the top of your guacamole after placing it in a bowl. Then, cover the whole thing with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap sticks to the layer of sour cream.

What does this accomplish? When the avocados in guacamole turn brown, it's because they contain an enzyme that reacts with oxygen in the air. So preventing this oxidation from happening is as simple as blocking your guacamole from the air, which the sour cream and plastic wrap layers do. This is why some people recommend storing your avocado halves in the fridge face-down — cutting contact with the air keeps the meat green longer. 

Using sour cream is a tasty way to create a thick barrier. And for an added bonus, when you're ready to eat, you can mix it into the rest of the bowl.