Osmosis: salt and sugar draw out water
Also searched as: drawing out water, salt draws water, drawing out juice, osmosis
In short: Salt and sugar attract water. On a surface they pull moisture out from the inside.
Like dry sand on a beach soaking up every wave: water moves to where there is a lot of salt.
Simplified model
What happens
Water moves to where there are more dissolved substances. Sprinkle on meat or vegetables and after a short time juice seeps out and dissolves the salt. With meat, this salty solution soaks back in over time. With vegetables such as aubergines or cucumbers, you use it to get rid of water.
Why it matters
Explains why freshly salted meat looks wet and shiny, and why you either fry it straight away or wait a long time.
Rules of thumb
- After about 10–40 minutes the surface is at its wettest: do not fry then, as a guide.
- Squeeze out or pat dry salted vegetables before frying.
Levers
2
In practice
2
Meat
Salt right before frying or many hours ahead, not in between.
Vegetables
Salt aubergine or courgette slices, pat them dry, then fry: they soak up less oil.
Steak turns grey instead of brownSources · 1
- Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking (2004), Kapitel Fleisch