Living · 6 pages · 12 min
How salt firms vegetables and then softens them
Salt first draws water out, then sodium helps hot pectin let go.
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From the opening
Salt firms vegetables and then softens them because it does two different jobs in sequence. First it draws water out and leaves watery tissue denser; later, with heat, sodium helps the pectin cement dissolve so the tissue softens. The opening covers osmosis draws water from cut cells, sodium later releases pectin, and calcium and acid keep walls firm.
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Inside
- Osmosis draws water from cut cells
- Sodium later releases pectin
- Calcium and acid keep walls firm
- A crisp leaf loses turgor instead
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Osmotic dehydration of salted vegetable tissue
- Sodium displacement of calcium from pectin in cooking