Editing Brining

{{Short description|Food processing by treating with brine or salt}}
'''Brining''' is treating food with [[brine]] or [[coarse salt]]<ref name="WaPo1">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/13/AR2007111300427.html |title=Wet Brining vs. Dry: Give That Bird a Bath |author=Benwick, Bonnie S. |date=November 14, 2007 |access-date=2018-04-07|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] }}</ref> which [[Food preservation|preserves]] and [[seasoning|seasons]] the food while enhancing [[meat tenderness|tenderness]]. [[Flavoring|Flavor]] can be further developed with additions such as [[herbs]], [[spices]], [[sugar]], [[caramel]] or [[vinegar]]. [[Meat]] and [[Fish as food|fish]] are typically brined for less than twenty-four hours while [[vegetable]]s, [[cheese]]s and [[fruit]] are brined in a much longer process known as [[pickling]]. Brining is similar to [[marination]], except that a marinade usually includes a significant amount of acid, such as vinegar or [[citrus]] juice. Brining is also similar to [[Curing (food preservation)|curing]], which usually involves significantly drying the food, and is done over a much longer time period.

==Meat==
Brining is a [[food processing]] technique in which meat is soaked in a salt water solution &ndash; a brine &ndash; similar to [[marination]] before cooking.<ref name="oFaC">{{cite book|last=McGee|first=Harold|title=[[On Food and Cooking|The Science And Lore Of The Kitchen]]|year=2004|publisher=Scribner|isbn=978-0-684-80001-1|pages=155–156}}</ref>  The brine may be [[seasoning|seasoned]] with [[spice]]s and [[herb]]s.  Duration varies from 30 minutes to several days depending on the cut's size, thickness, and desired effect. 

===Dry brining===
[[File:Dry brining chicken.png|thumb|Kitchen salt applied to chicken showing extracted moisture after one hour.]]
Brining can also be achieved by covering the meat in dry [[coarse salt]] and left to rest for several hours.<ref name="WaPo1"/> The salt draws moisture from the interior of the meat to the surface, where it mixes with the salt and is then reabsorbed with the salt essentially brining the meat in its own juices. The salt rub is then rinsed off and discarded before cooking.<ref name="NYT1">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/25/dining/chefs-who-salt-early-if-not-often.html |title=Chefs Who Salt Early if Not Often |last1=Kaiser |first1=Emily |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 25, 2004 |access-date=2018-04-08}}</ref>

[[Food scientist]]s have two theories about the brining effect, but which one is correct is still under debate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ww2.kqed.org/quest/2009/11/25/the-science-behind-brining/ |title=The Science Behind Brining a Turkey |date=November 25, 2009 |access-date=2016-08-16 |publisher=[[KQED Inc.|KQED]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=J. Kenji López-Alt |author-link=J. Kenji López-Alt |title=The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science |date=21 September 2015 |page=643 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=9780393249866 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-9wBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT643 }}</ref>
*The [[brine]] surrounding the cells has a higher concentration of salt than the fluid within the cells, but the cell fluid has a higher concentration of other [[solutes]].<ref name="oFaC"/> This leads salt [[ion]]s to [[diffusion|diffuse into]] the cell, while the solutes in the cells cannot diffuse through the cell membranes into the brine. The increased salinity of the cell fluid causes the cell to absorb water from the brine via [[osmosis]].<ref name="oFaC"/>
*The salt introduced into the cell [[denaturation (biochemistry)|denatures]] its [[protein]]s.<ref name="oFaC"/> The proteins coagulate, forming a matrix that traps water molecules and holds them during cooking.<ref name="FineCooking1">{{cite web|url=http://www.finecooking.com/articles/why-brining-keeps-meat-moist.aspx |title=Why Brining Keeps Turkey and Other Meat So Moist |last1=Corriher |first1=Shirley }}</ref> This prevents the meat from [[dehydration|dehydrating]].

==Fish==
[[File:Herring - Russian style (brightened).jpg|thumb|Brined [[herring]]]]
As opposed to [[salted fish|dry salting]], fish brining or wet-salting is performed by immersion of fish into brine, or just sprinkling it with salt without draining the moisture. To ensure long-term preservation, the solution has to contain at least 20% of salt, a process called "heavy salting" in fisheries; heavy-salted fish must be desalted in cold water or milk before consumption. If less salt is used, the fish is suited for immediate consumption, but additional refrigeration is necessary for longer preservation.<ref name="Catsberg2013">{{cite book|author=C. M. E. Catsberg|title=Food Handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yrt9CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA90|date=12 March 2013|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-94-009-0445-3|pages=119–120}}</ref>

Wet-salting is used for preparation of:<ref name=Catsberg2013/>
* Salted [[herring]], non-gutted, with hard or soft roe and heavily salted (20% NaCl brine, with final product containing around 12% salt), 
* [[Soused herring]]  which is [[gutted]] and lightly salted (2–3% NaCl), without [[roe]],
* [[Anchovies as food|Anchovies]], which can be immersed in brine or wet-salted. After several years, the fish liquefies and can be processed into paste or anchovy butter,
* [[Caviar]] and other types of [[roe]].

==Vegetables==
{{main|Pickling}}
[[File:Ogórki w trakcie kiszenia.jpg|thumb|Pickled cucumbers in brine (with [[dill]])]]
Vegetables are immersed in brine, [[vinegar]] or [[vinaigrette]] for extended periods of time in the process of [[pickling]], where they undergo anaerobic [[fermentation]] which affects their texture and flavor. Pickling can preserve perishable foods for months. Antimicrobial herbs and spices, such as [[mustard seed]], [[garlic]], [[cinnamon]] or [[cloves]], are often added.<ref>{{cite journal | pmc = 154497 | pmid=12732572 | volume=69 | title=Antimicrobial effects of mustard flour and acetic acid against Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium | journal=Appl Environ Microbiol | pages=2959–63 | last1 = Rhee | first1 = MS | last2 = Lee | first2 = SY | last3 = Dougherty | first3 = RH | last4 = Kang | first4 = DH | year=2003 | issue=5 | doi=10.1128/aem.69.5.2959-2963.2003| bibcode=2003ApEnM..69.2959R }}</ref> Unlike the [[canning]] process, pickling (which includes fermentation) does not require that the food be completely [[Sterilization (microbiology)|sterile]] before it is sealed. The acidity or salinity of the solution, the temperature of fermentation, and the exclusion of oxygen determine which microorganisms dominate, and determine the flavor of the end product.<ref name=McGee1>McGee, Harold (2004). ''[[On Food and Cooking|On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen]]''. New York: Scribner, pp. 291–296. {{ISBN|0-684-80001-2}}.</ref>

==Cheese==
Brine is used in two ways in cheese production:

* [[Brined cheese]]s, such as [[halloumi]] and [[feta]], are pickled in brine.
* [[Washed-rind cheese]]s, such as [[Munster cheese|Munster]], are washed with brine during the production process.

==See also==
{{portal|Food}}
* {{annotated link|Kosher salt}}
* {{annotated link|Pickling salt}}
* {{annotated link|Curing (food preservation)}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article.php?id=70&title=Brining Brining] on Cooking For Engineers - a discussion on what happens to meat as it brines (with reader comments)

{{Food preparation}}
{{Salt topics}}

[[Category:Cooking techniques]]
[[Category:Food preparation techniques]]
[[Category:Salted foods]]
[[Category:Culinary terminology]]