Shelf · Salt, smoke & time · No heat
Curing
Packing food in salt, usually with sugar and aromatics, for a day or more until it firms and changes character.
- The temperature band
- In the fridge · 2 to 5 °C
- The time
- About 1440 min
Why it works
Salt pulls water out through the cell walls faster than it moves in, so the food loses moisture overall and its remaining liquid becomes too salty for spoilage bacteria. The proteins denature in the process — which is why cured salmon is firm and translucent without ever having met heat.
The tell
A pool of liquid collects in the dish within hours, and the flesh goes from soft and opaque to firm, dense and slightly translucent.
- Salt on top
- Water drawn out
- Drawn back in
How it fails
Leaving it in the salt past its time gives something too salty to serve, and unlike most mistakes this one cannot be undone — though a short soak in cold water pulls back some of it. Curing must happen refrigerated: at room temperature the spoilage outruns the salt.
In the app, the card opens on the recipe step that names it, with the tell drawn.
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