why would dipping meat into salt preserve meat? how can i explain this process scientifially?

Answer 1

Food is preserved by either slowing down the activity of disease causing bacteria or killing the bacteria altogether.

There are a lot of method preserving food, like refrigeration and freezing, canning, dehydration and others.

Salting is an ancient way of preservation, especially of meat. The salt takes moisture out, so bacteria cannot grow. It is better to salt in cold weather. If it is hot, the meat will spoil quicker, and the salt would not have had time to work.

See some links on the topic:
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0113061/preservation.htm
http://home.howstuffworks.com/food-preservation5.htm
http://tudorhistory.org/topics/food/preserve.html
http://www.unc.edu/courses/rometech/public/content/survival/Lindsay_Mack/Food_Preservation.htm

Answer 2

With the theory of osmosis, the water is small enough to leave the meat. However, the salt on the outside is too big to fit into the meat, thus draining (or as the first guy said, "absorbing") the water, thus preserving it.

Answer 3

Most Bacteria do not grow well in something that has a high concentration of salt, and this keeps food fresh longer since less cultures can grow on it.

It's kind of like a refrigerator, bacteria have a hard time surviving in cold climates.

Answer 4

the salt absorbs the moisture creating dried meat. also the salinity is so high that it prevents bacteria from growing.

Answer 5

the salt and sugar compounds does not allow bacteria to multiply

Answer 6

go to college

Answer 7

it does wat msg does today