Brining
Brining is a preparation method used on meats in order to give a better texture to the meat and to instill a better flavour. What you do is:
- Prepare a bowl of liquid containing salt and flavours you intend for the meat to carry. For the liquid, it is best to add a high proportion of salt owing to the process it will then take.
- Then you place the meat into the liquid. What happens is that the solution will travel into the meat in order to equalize the salt levels between those in the meat and in the liquid. This means that, before even you start cooking the meat, it will have a higher liquid content and when you cook it, your meat will lose the same amount of moisture, but will still end up juicier.
While you brine, your meat is not only gaining liquid; it’s also gaining salt, and the higher salt concentration will begin to break down its proteins. This results in the meat being more tender and also jucier. This method is better to use on drier, leaner meats because they don’t have as much fat to complement the moisture and flavor. Examples of these include poultry breasts, pork chops, ribs shrimp.
Brining does not necessary need to use a solution. Alternatively, you can rub the salt and spices onto the meat, which is the method used when you prepare turkey or roast chicken. This is called Dry Brining and used often for grilled meats because when you grill, you are gradually cooking the meat from the outermost to the inside by heat. As long as the brining is done on the surface of the meat, there will be a “protective layer” that helps to lock in the moisture and keep the meat juicy.
Pickling
Rather than preparatio for cooking food immediately, pickling is used to preserve or extend the shelf life of food for future use, either using a salty solution to trigger fermentation or immersion in vinegar. The procedure will affect the food’s texture, taste and flavor because of the solutioin used. I add it here because brining can be used for the fermentation process. Using salt or vinegar has different results:
- Using salt via brining – will trigger fermentation, slowing down the process of deterioration. One notable example of this is Kimchi;
- Using vinegar – the acidity of the vinegar will be able to kill off most harmful substance that deteriorates the quality of the food. This is comparatively the more common method for preservation because this can last a long period of time.
Now that I had introduced Marinating, Brining and Pickling, the common forms of food preparation have been discussed. Later, I will go into the common methods of cooking. You will see the variety of possibilities these cooking techniques allow with the same ingredients and creating a plethora of different foods with the slightest of alterations~!