Cooking is chemistry, so it should come as no surprise that chemical knowledge can help in the kitchen. The latest edition of Periodic Graphics in C&EN includes four practical tips and the science behind them. View the full graphic on the C&EN site.
Anyone who’s ever purchased an avocado will testify that, after taking several days to reach the point of perfect ripeness, they remain at that point for an incredibly short amount of time before morphing into a brown, sludgy mess. As if to confound this problem, if you do catch them at the optimum ripeness, they turn brown incredibly quickly after being cut open if not eaten straight away. As always, chemical processes at work are to blame for this occurrence.