Experimentbeginnerdraft
Salt draws out water
Also searched as: osmosis experiment, salting cucumber experiment
In short: Salt draws water out of vegetables, and you can watch it happen.
Picture it
Like a magnet for water: wherever the salt is, water is drawn to it.
Before · Afterfresh
You need · 15 minutes
- a cucumber or courgette
- salt
- two plates
How it’s done
Sequence · Step 1 of 3
Cut the vegetable into slices of equal thickness and divide them between two plates.
All steps as a list
- Cut the vegetable into slices of equal thickness and divide them between two plates.
- Salt one plate but not the other.
- Wait 15 minutes.
What you see
Drops of water appear on the salted slices, liquid collects on the plate and the slices turn bendy.
Why it happens
Water moves to where there is more salt (). That is why freshly salted meat is wet, and why you should fry it either straight away or much later.
Related entries
Sources
- Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking (2004)