Salting (food)

Salting (food)

Salting is the preservation of food with dry edible salt. It is related to pickling (preparing food with brine, i.e. salty water). It is one of the oldest methods of preserving food, and two historically significant salt-cured foods are dried and salted cod (usually referred to as salt fish) and salt-cured meat. Vegetables such as runner beans and cabbage are also often preserved in this manner.

Salting is used because most bacteria, fungi and other potentially pathogenic organisms cannot survive in a highly salty environment, due to the hypertonic nature of salt. Any living cell in such an environment will become dehydrated through osmosis and die or become temporarily inactivated.

It was discovered in the 19th century that salt mixed with nitrites (saltpeter) would color meats red, rather than grey, and consumers at that time then strongly preferred the red-colored meat.