Processbeginnerdraft
Diffusion: flavour travels
Also searched as: soaking in, marinade soaks in, flavours mingling
In short: Dissolved substances move by themselves to where there is less of them. But only slowly, a few millimetres in hours.
Picture it
Like a drop of ink spreading slowly in water, only much slower, because meat is not water.
Level 2 · Marinade on the meat≈ 2 cm
Simplified model
What happens
Salt, sugar and aromas move from the surface to the inside. Small molecules such as salt manage this in hours to days; large aromas and oil barely get in. That is why marinades mainly season the surface.
Why it matters
Explains why salt soaks in but marinade aromas stay on the outside, and why braises taste better the next day.
Rules of thumb
- Salt needs time, aromas stay on the outside.
- Thinner pieces soak through faster.
- Yesterday's stew: the aromas have had time to spread.
Levers
Related entries
Sources
- Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking (2004)