Salt
Salting or curing draws moisture from the meat through a process of osmosis. Meat is cured with salt or sugar, or a combination of the two. Nitrates and nitrites are also often used to cure meat and contribute the characteristic pink color, as well as inhibition of Clostridium botulinum.
Read more about this topic: Food Preservation
Famous quotes containing the word salt:
“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted?”
—Bible: New Testament Matthew 5:13.
From the Sermon on the Mount.
“At sea a fellow comes out. Salt water is like wine, in that respect.”
—Herman Melville (18191891)
“It is a grand thing to rise in the world. The ambition to do so is the very salt of the earth. It is the parent of all enterprise, and the cause of all improvement.”
—Anthony Trollope (18151882)