How does brining affect turkey flavor and texture. What are the pros and cons of wet brining vs dry brining. Is brining necessary for a juicy turkey. How to brine a turkey properly for best results.
The Science Behind Brining: How Salt Transforms Turkey Meat
Brining has become increasingly popular as a technique for producing juicier, more flavorful turkey. But how exactly does it work? Let’s dive into the science behind brining to understand its effects on meat.
Contrary to popular belief, osmosis is not the primary mechanism at play. Instead, brining works by altering the structure of muscle proteins. As salt penetrates the meat, it dissolves some of the muscle fibers, particularly a protein called myosin. This loosening of the muscle structure allows the meat to absorb and retain more moisture during cooking.
To demonstrate this effect, an experiment was conducted comparing three turkey breasts:
- One brined in a salt solution
- One soaked in plain water
- One left untreated
The results showed that while both the brined and water-soaked turkeys gained weight initially, only the brined turkey retained significantly more moisture after cooking. This retention of moisture translates to a juicier eating experience.
Wet Brining vs. Dry Brining: Which Method Reigns Supreme?
When it comes to brining turkey, there are two main methods: wet brining and dry brining. Each has its own set of advantages and drawbacks. Let’s compare these techniques to help you decide which is best for your needs.
Wet Brining: The Traditional Approach
Wet brining involves submerging the turkey in a saltwater solution, often with added herbs and spices, for several hours or overnight. This method is known for producing very moist meat, but it comes with some drawbacks:
- Requires a large container and significant fridge space
- Can dilute the turkey’s natural flavor
- May result in less crispy skin
- Can make gravy too salty if pan drippings are used
Dry Brining: The Modern Alternative
Dry brining, also known as pre-salting, involves rubbing salt directly onto the turkey’s skin and letting it sit uncovered in the refrigerator. This method offers several advantages:
- Takes up less space in the fridge
- Concentrates the turkey’s natural flavors
- Promotes crispier skin
- Allows for more control over salt levels
While both methods can produce a juicy turkey, many chefs and home cooks are now favoring dry brining for its convenience and superior flavor results.
The Downside of Wet Brining: Flavor Dilution and Texture Concerns
Despite its ability to produce juicy meat, wet brining has some significant drawbacks that are worth considering. The primary concerns revolve around flavor and texture.
When a turkey is submerged in a wet brine, it doesn’t just absorb salt and water. The process also causes some of the bird’s natural juices to be replaced by the brine solution. This can lead to a dilution of the turkey’s inherent flavor, resulting in meat that tastes watery or less “turkey-like.”
Additionally, the excess moisture absorbed during wet brining can affect the texture of the meat. While it may be juicier, some describe the texture as more similar to lunch meat than a traditionally roasted turkey. This is because the muscle fibers are so loosened and filled with water that they lose some of their meaty bite.
Another issue is the skin. The added moisture from wet brining can make it more difficult to achieve that coveted crispy, golden-brown skin that many consider the hallmark of a perfectly roasted turkey.
Dry Brining: Enhancing Flavor Without Compromising Texture
Dry brining has gained popularity as an alternative to wet brining, offering many of the benefits without the drawbacks. This method involves applying salt directly to the turkey’s skin and allowing it to sit uncovered in the refrigerator for a period of time.
How does dry brining affect the turkey’s flavor and texture? The salt draws out some of the meat’s natural moisture, which then dissolves the salt. This concentrated salty solution is then reabsorbed into the meat, carrying the salt deeper into the tissue. This process not only seasons the meat thoroughly but also helps it retain moisture during cooking.
Unlike wet brining, dry brining doesn’t introduce excess water into the meat. This means the turkey retains its natural flavor while still benefiting from increased juiciness and seasoning. The lack of added water also makes it easier to achieve crispy skin, as the surface of the turkey can dry out in the refrigerator, promoting better browning during roasting.
The Role of Salt Concentration in Brining Effectiveness
The concentration of salt in a brine solution plays a crucial role in its effectiveness. But does a higher salt concentration always yield better results? Let’s explore this aspect of brining.
Experiments have shown that brine solutions with salt concentrations ranging from 5% to 8% are typically most effective for brining turkey. These concentrations provide a good balance of flavor enhancement and moisture retention without making the meat overly salty.
Interestingly, even extremely high salt concentrations (up to 35% in one experiment) were shown to be effective at helping turkey retain moisture. However, this level of salt made the meat inedibly salty, demonstrating that there’s a point of diminishing returns when it comes to salt concentration in brines.
For dry brining, the amount of salt used is typically about 1 teaspoon per pound of turkey. This allows for proper seasoning without oversalting the meat.
Beyond Salt: Flavorings and Aromatics in Brines
While salt is the key player in brining, many recipes call for additional flavorings and aromatics to enhance the taste of the turkey. These additions can impart subtle flavors to the meat, creating a more complex and interesting taste profile.
Common additions to wet brines include:
- Sugar (helps with browning and balances the salt)
- Herbs like thyme, rosemary, and sage
- Citrus zest or juice
- Garlic and onions
- Peppercorns
- Bay leaves
For dry brines, aromatics can be mixed directly with the salt or applied separately after the initial salting. Popular additions include:
- Dried herbs and spices
- Citrus zest
- Sugar (in small amounts)
- Ground pepper
It’s important to note that while these additions can enhance flavor, their effect is generally more subtle than that of the salt itself. The primary goal of brining remains improving moisture retention and seasoning the meat throughout.
Brining Times: Finding the Sweet Spot for Optimal Results
The duration of brining is a critical factor in achieving the best results. Brining for too short a time may not allow the salt to penetrate deeply enough, while brining for too long can lead to oversalting or undesirable texture changes.
For wet brining, the general rule of thumb is:
- Whole turkey: 12-24 hours
- Turkey breast: 4-8 hours
Dry brining typically requires longer times to achieve similar results:
- Whole turkey: 24-72 hours
- Turkey breast: 12-24 hours
These times can vary based on the size of the turkey and the concentration of salt used. It’s important to note that brining for longer than recommended won’t necessarily yield better results and may in fact lead to overly salty or mushy meat.
When dry brining, leaving the salted turkey uncovered in the refrigerator for the last 12-24 hours can help dry out the skin, promoting better browning and crispiness during roasting.
Alternatives to Brining: Achieving Juicy Turkey Without the Soak
While brining has become a popular method for ensuring juicy turkey, it’s not the only way to achieve great results. For those who prefer not to brine or are short on time, there are several alternatives worth considering.
Butter-Basting
Regularly basting the turkey with melted butter during cooking can help keep the meat moist and promote browning of the skin. This method adds flavor and helps create a barrier against moisture loss.
Herb Butter Under the Skin
Gently separating the skin from the meat and applying herb-infused butter directly to the flesh can add flavor and moisture. As the butter melts during cooking, it bastes the meat from within.
Spatchcocking
This technique involves removing the backbone and flattening the turkey. It allows for more even cooking, reducing the risk of dry breast meat while the thighs finish cooking.
Low and Slow Cooking
Roasting the turkey at a lower temperature (around 325°F) for a longer time can help retain moisture. This method requires careful monitoring of internal temperature to ensure food safety.
Brining Alternatives for Store-Bought Turkey
Many commercially available turkeys are pre-brined or injected with a salt solution. These turkeys may not require additional brining and can be prepared using traditional roasting methods.
Ultimately, the choice of whether to brine and which method to use depends on personal preference, available time, and the specific characteristics of the turkey being prepared. Experimentation with different techniques can help you find the method that works best for your taste and circumstances.
The Right Way to Brine Turkey | The Food Lab
[Photographs: J. Kenji López-Alt. Video: Serious Eats Video]
Want more action and less talk? Jump directly to our quick and dirty guide to brining and dry brining if you want to get straight into the kitchen without the science lecture.
Let me start this off by saying that I don’t brine my meat. Ever. Not for Thanksgiving, not for my Sunday supper, and certainly not for a quick weeknight meal. This post is about the reasons why.
It seems to me that, as recently as 15 years ago, dry turkey was a given. The yearly Thanksgiving ritual at my family’s table did not include any ill-mannered offspring crying out, “DAAAAaaaad, Mom ruined the turkey again”—turkey wasn’t something that could be ruined. It was dry, tough, and stringy, and that was a fact of life.
Then, about a decade ago, brining entered the scene.* Thanks to an overnight soak in a saltwater solution, gone were the days of dry breast meat and extra servings of gravy. I, for one, welcomed our new moist-breasted overlords. Even my mother could throw a turkey in the oven and pull out something remotely edible a few hours later. It was positively magical!
* Or, more accurately, the technique that had been known to large swaths of the populated world, including China and Scandinavia, for millennia finally made inroads into North America’s holiday menu.
These days, everybody and their grandmother (better known as the typical Thanksgiving gathering) has heard of brining, and more and more folks are doing it at home before Turkey Day. But it’s not all pie and gravy. There are a few distinct and definite downsides to wet brining, and many folks are making the switch to dry brining (a.k.a. extended salting). The question is, which method works best?
How Brining Works
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s do a quick recap on brining basics. The basic process involves soaking meat (usually lean meats, like turkey, chicken, or pork chops) in a tub full of heavily salted water overnight. Most brines are in the range of 5 to 8% salt to water by weight. Over the course of the night, the meat absorbs some of that water. More importantly, that water stays put even after the meat is cooked. By brining meat, you can decrease the amount of total moisture loss by 30 to 40%.
To demonstrate, I cooked three identical turkey breasts in a 300°F (150°C) oven to an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C). One was brined, the other was soaked overnight in plain water, and the last was left alone. All three breasts came from non-kosher, non-enhanced birds (i.e., the birds were natural, having received no treatment after slaughter). I charted their weight straight from the package, after brining, and after cooking.
As you can see, both the bird soaked in brine and the bird soaked in water gained a significant amount of weight prior to roasting, but while the watered bird lost nearly all of that weight as it cooked, the brined bird retained a good deal more. This corresponded to a juicier texture on eating. So what’s going on here?
Some publications attribute it all to osmosis—the tendency for water to move across a membrane from an area of low solute concentration to an area of high solute concentration. In this case, water moves from the brining vessel (low solute concentration) to the inside of the turkey’s cells (where there are lots of proteins, minerals, and other fun biological goodies dissolved in the water).
This theory is, in fact, inaccurate. If it were true, then soaking a turkey in pure, unsalted water should be more effective than soaking it in a brine, and we’ve already seen that that is not the case. Moreover, if you soak a turkey in a ridiculously concentrated brine (I tested turkey in a 35% salt solution), according to the osmosis theory, it should dry out even more.
However, I found that despite turning the turkey inedibly salty, a highly concentrated 35% salt solution was just as effective at helping a turkey retain moisture as a more moderate 6% salt solution, indicating that the osmosis theory is entirely bunk.
To understand what’s really happening, you have to look at the structure of turkey muscles. Muscles are made up of long, bundled fibers, each one housed in a tough protein sheath. As the turkey heats, the proteins that make up this sheath will contract. Just like when you squeeze a tube of toothpaste, this causes juices to be forced out of the bird. Heat them to much above 150°F (66°C) or so, and you end up with dry, stringy meat.
Salt helps mitigate this shrinkage by dissolving some of the muscle proteins (mainly myosin). The muscle fibers loosen up, allowing them to absorb more moisture, and, more importantly, they don’t contract as much when they cook, ensuring that more of that moisture stays in place as the turkey cooks.
Sounds great, right? But there’s a catch.
The Problems With Brining
There are two major problems with brining. First off, it’s a major pain in the butt. Not only does it require that you have a vessel big enough to submerge an entire turkey (common options are a cooler, a big bucket, or a couple of layers of heavy-duty garbage bag, tied together with hopes and prayers against breakage), but it requires that you keep everything inside it—the turkey and the brine—cold for the entire process. For an extra-large bird, this can be a couple of days, meaning that you’ve either given up using the main compartment of your fridge at the time of year that you most want to use it, or that you keep a constant supply of ice packs or ice rotating to keep that bird cold.
Second, brining robs your bird of flavor. Think about it: Your turkey is absorbing water, and holding on to it. That means that that extra 30 to 40% savings in moisture loss doesn’t really come in the form of turkey juices—it’s plain old tap water. Many folks who eat brined birds have that very complaint: It’s juicy, but the juice is watery.
I’ve seen a number of solutions (solutions, get it? haha) offered for this problem, so I decided to test them all out side by side.
Brining Alternatives
By far the most common alternative is plain old salting. When you salt a turkey (or chicken) breast, meat juices are initially drawn out through the process of osmosis (yes, this time it really is osmosis at work). As the salt dissolves in these juices, it forms what amounts to a very concentrated brine, which then allows it to break down muscle proteins. The loosened muscle fibers allow the juices to get reabsorbed, this time taking the salt along for the ride.
Through this process—osmosis, dissolving, reabsorbing—the salt will slowly work its way into the meat.
I’ve also heard people ask the very obvious question: If brining introduces bland, boring tap water into the bird, why not brine in a more flavorful solution?
Why not, indeed? I decided to find out.
With so many methods to test side by side, it became impractical to try to roast turkey breasts simultaneously. Instead, I roasted 24 chicken breasts in four different batches of six, averaging out the data across the batches. While chicken is not exactly turkey, the two are similar enough that results for one should correlate to results for the other.
Here’s what I tried:
- Breast #1: plain (untreated)
- Breast #2: brined overnight in a 6% salt solution
- Breast #3: heavily salted overnight
- Breast #4: brined overnight in chicken broth with a 6% salt content
- Breast #5: brined overnight in cider with a 6% salt content
- Breast #6: soaked overnight in plain water
Breasts #1 and #6 were included as a control to ensure that the brine and salt solutions were behaving as expected, as well as a means of evaluating how closely the data would mirror that of the turkey breasts.
Here’s what happened with breasts #1, #2, #3, and #6 (plain, brined, salted, and water-soaked).
As expected, the brined chicken breasts held on to significantly more moisture than either the plain chicken breasts or the water-soaked chicken breasts. Indeed, in this test, the water-soaked breasts actually ended up drier on average than the plain breasts. Take a look at the carnage:
Dry as the Gobi Desert (on an admittedly very-moist-for-a-desert day).
On the other hand, take a look at the brined breast:
As plump and juicy as a benevolent aunt in a Disney film. Tasting it, you definitely feel a case of wet-sponge syndrome. Water comes out of it as you chew, giving you the illusion of juiciness, but the texture is a little too loose, and the flavor a little bland.
Moving on to the salted breast, we find that it’s still significantly moister than the unsalted breast (though it was a couple of percentage points drier than the brined breast). Tasting it, you’ll find it’s undoubtedly juicier and better-seasoned, with a stronger chicken flavor. Texture-wise, it’s significantly different from both plain and brined turkey, with the smooth, dense-but-tender texture of lightly cured meat.
Visually, you can see clear signs of this curing with its decidedly pink hue:
With a small chicken breast, this pink, moist, cured section extends nearly to the center of the breast. On a turkey, you’d see it only around the outer edges (which, serendipitously, happen to be the parts most prone to overcooking and drying out anyway).
While the brined breast was slightly juicier, flavor-wise and texture-wise, I’d take the salted chicken over the brined any day.
What About the Flavored Brines?
First off, don’t try to brine your turkey or chicken in cider (or any other acidic marinade, for that matter). Don’t do it. Just don’t. The acid in the cider will kick off the denaturization process in the meat, effectively “cooking” it without heat. The results? Ultra-dry meat, with a wrinkled, completely desiccated exterior, like this:
More interesting were the results of the broth-soaked chicken. It seems like the ultimate solution, right? If brining forces bland water into your meat, why not replace that water with flavorful broth?
Unfortunately, physics is a fickle mistress who refuses to be reined in. When I tasted the broth-soaked chicken next to the plain brine-soaked chicken, there was barely a noticeable difference in flavor at all. The broth-soaked chicken still had the same hallmarks of a regular brined bird (juicy/wet texture, blander flavor). What the heck was going on?
There are two principles at work here. The first is that, while broth is a pure liquid to the naked eye, broth actually consists of water with a vast array of dissolved solids in it that contribute to its flavor. Most of these flavorful molecules are organic compounds that are relatively large in size—on a molecular scale, that is—while salt molecules are quite small. So, while salt can easily pass across the semipermeable membranes that make up the cells in animal tissue, larger molecules cannot.**
** Good thing, too; otherwise, you’d be leaking proteins and minerals out of your body every time you took a bath.
Additionally, there’s an effect called salting out, which occurs in water-based solutions containing both proteins and salt. Think of a cup of broth as a college dance party populated with cheerleaders (the water—let’s call them the Pi Delta Pis), nerds (the proteins—we’ll refer to them as the Lambda Lambda Lambdas), and jocks (the salt—obviously the Alpha Betas).***
*** I make no specifications as to the gender and sexual preferences of said classes of individuals, but for the sake of this analogy, let us assume that nerds and jocks are not attracted to each other and that cheerleaders attract both nerds and jocks.
Now, at a completely jock-free party, the nerds actually have a shot at the cheerleaders, and end up commingling with them, forming a homogeneous mix. Open up the gymnasium doors, and a few of those cheerleaders will leave the party, taking a few nerds along for the ride. Unfortunately, those gymnasium doors are locked shut, and the only folks strong enough to open them are the jocks. So what happens when you let some jocks into that party?
The cheerleaders, who were initially fine socializing with the nerds, will quickly and selectively flock to the jocks. The nerds end up finding each other, huddling into small groups, and twiddling their thumbs. When the jocks finally go to bust the gymnasium doors open at the end of the party, they leave hand in hand with the cheerleaders, leaving the nerds in the dust. In our sad tale, those Tri-Lambs never get their revenge.
The exact same thing is happening in a broth-based brine. Water molecules are attracted to salt ions and will selectively interact with them. The poor proteins, meanwhile, are left with only each other, and end up forming large aggregate groups, which makes it even harder for them to get into the meat. When the salt breaks down muscle fibers sufficiently to allow the uptake of water (the equivalent of our jocks breaking down those doors), plenty of water and salt gets into the meat, but very little protein does.****
The result? Unless you’re using an extra-concentrated homemade stock, the amount of flavorful compounds that make it inside your chicken or turkey is very, very limited. Given the amount of stock you’d need to use to submerge a turkey, this doesn’t seem like a very wise move.
**** This phenomenon is used in biology to remove specific unwanted proteins from solutions. As more salt is added to a solution, proteins will form larger and larger aggregates, until they are eventually large enough to be visible to the naked eye and precipitate out of the solution. Those proteins can then be removed with centrifugation. By knowing the salt concentration that causes different proteins to precipitate, scientists can target specific proteins to be removed, while keeping the rest in solution. The excess salt can then be removed via dialysis (essentially microscopic straining).
So What Does This Mean for My Turkey?
This is all well and good, but what does it mean? How do you apply it?
Well, let me end how I started: I don’t brine my birds, because I like my birds to taste like birds, not like watered-down birds. Salting your meat is nearly as effective at preventing moisture loss, and the flavor gains are noticeable. Want to know the truth? Even advance salting is not a necessary first step. I see it more as a safeguard against overcooking. It provides a little buffer in case you accidentally let that bird sit in the oven an extra 15 minutes. As long as you are very careful about monitoring your bird, there’s no reason to brine or salt it in advance.
That said, it doesn’t hurt to take precautions.
How to Do It if You So Choose
We’ve put together a handy quick and dirty guide to brining and dry brining, which lays it all out in detail.
Let deliciousness, merriment, and family bonding ensue. You may not all be able to agree on whether the cranberries belong in the stuffing or on the side, but at least you can all agree that this is one darn tasty bird.
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The Truth About Wet-Brining and Dry-Brining Your Turkey
It’s Thanksgiving, and you’re hosting. The most hotly debated question of the day, aside from who will eat the most food: Should you brine your turkey or not? Your foodie relatives are saying yes, you just haaave to wet-brine, because it’s the only way to get a succulent bird. But you read online that it’s a total scam. The truth? It’s kind of complicated.
Wait, what is a brine?
Basically, a brine is a highly concentrated solution of salt in water that’s used for preservation (think pickles and olives) and seasoning. It’s a way to tenderize and enhance the flavor of your food, similar to marinating. You can brine something for as little as 30 minutes or up to several days, and in addition to salt, the brining solution can include flavorings like herbs and spices. Simple enough, right?
So why would I brine my turkey?
No offense to turkey, but it’s pretty dry. (Hello, gravy.) It’s a relatively lean protein, so there’s not a lot of fat to keep that bird juicy while it cooks for hours. The idea is that a wet brine will help keep your turkey from drying out, while also seasoning it all the way to the bone (because the only thing worse than a dry turkey is a bland one).
In the case of a Thanksgiving turkey, you’d typically soak your bird in a saltwater solution—using about ½ cup of salt for every gallon of water—for about 24 hours. That also means you’ve located a vessel large enough (like a cooler…or, um, a bathtub) to keep that 18-pound turkey submerged in water at a food-safe temperature for an entire day.
I heard I should
dry-brine my turkey. What’s that about?
Dry-brining, as you can guess, involves no water at all. It’s just a fancy way of saying you seasoned the meat in advance. Think of it like a barbecue rub: You coat the turkey in salt and let it rest in the fridge for a day.
And even though there’s no extra moisture involved, dry-brining can actually lead to a juicier, more flavorful end result than wet-brining. That’s because the salt in the dry brine draws out the natural moisture in the bird, then mixes with those juices before getting reabsorbed. It also changes the protein structure so that moisture doesn’t leech out during the cooking process. So instead of adding water to the turkey (and thereby diluting its turkey-licious flavor), you’re just adding seasoning. Fans of crispy skin will also prefer dry-brining, because it’s pretty hard to get shatteringly crisp skin on a turkey that’s been bathing in water for hours.
So should I brine my turkey or not?
You should definitely season your turkey in some way, and if you want to give brining a try, we prefer the dry method. There’s no sloppy turkey water, you don’t need special equipment and the work is done in advance. Plus, crispy skin and juicy, well-seasoned meat—what’s not to love?
Here’s how to dry-brine a turkey:
1. Once your turkey is fully thawed, place it on a rimmed baking sheet and pat it dry.
2. Using about one tablespoon of kosher salt per four pounds of turkey, rub the bird all over with salt, getting into the cavities and under the skin.
3. Wrap the turkey and baking sheet in plastic wrap or a large plastic bag and place it in the refrigerator overnight.
4. A few hours before cooking, remove the turkey from the fridge, uncover it and pat it dry. Let the bird come to room temperature, cook it using your preferred method, carve it and prepare for the oohs and ahhs.
RELATED: How Big of a Turkey Do I Need for My Thanksgiving Dinner?
The Naked Truth About Thanksgiving; The Pilgrims Didn’t Brine
I had hoped to avoid butchery projects. So I called Sara Moulton, the Gourmet magazine chef and television personality whose new book, “Sara’s Secrets for Weeknight Meals,” is all about assuring people they can cook excellent food easily.
“I do the old 325 degrees,” she said. “I don’t do anything funny.”
She likes a big turkey, maybe 16 pounds. She stuffs it, and prepares a separate pan of dressing to cook outside the bird. If the stuffing doesn’t get hot enough (it ought to reach 165 degrees), she removes it from the bird, then puts it back in the oven.
“The biggest problem people have is that they follow those charts and they are the vaguest things in the planet,” she said.
The key is a good meat thermometer. Some chefs take the turkey out when the legs hit 155, others at 165 degrees or 170 degrees. The U.S.D.A. says the thigh meat should be 180 degrees, which is insanely high but hospital safe. Ms. Moulton is not willing to buck the U.S.D.A. in print, but I am. Bringing the thighs to at least 165 degrees seems the best compromise between food safety and avoiding breast oblivion. The temperature will continue to rise as you let the turkey rest for 30 minutes before carving, another tip from Ms. Moulton.
Finally, I called my mother. She has been roasting turkeys for 50 years. It’s always the same. A little onion and celery in the cavity, some salt and pepper and a constant 350-degree oven.
So, Mom, why were some of our family’s Thanksgiving turkeys terrific and others, well, not so good?
“If you get a good turkey, you’ll have a good turkey,” said my mom, who always buys whatever is on sale. “If you get a bad turkey, it’ll be a bad turkey.”
So I tested three different turkeys. Since a kosher bird is already salted as part of the processing, I though it might be the shortcut I was looking for. It offered juicy meat, but not so juicy to justify all the time I spent pulling feather shafts from the skin. Plus, depending on where you live, a kosher bird can be hard to find.
The Bitter Truth About Olives
A luscious-looking olive, ripe off the sun-warmed tree, is horrible.
The substance that renders it essentially inedible is oleuropein, a phenolic compound bitter enough to shrivel your teeth. The bitterness is a protective mechanism for olives, useful for fending off invasive microorganisms and seed-crunching mammals. In the wild, olives are dispersed by birds, who avoid the bitterness issue by swallowing them whole.
Given the awfulness of the au naturel olive, you can’t help but wonder why early humans, after the first appalling bite, didn’t shun the olive tree forever.
The answer, of course, is olive oil. The olive is a drupe or stone fruit, like cherries, peaches, and plums, in which a fleshy outer covering surrounds a pit or stone, which in turn encases a seed. In the case of the olive, the outer flesh contains up to 30 percent oil—a concentration so impressive that the English word oil comes from the ancient Greek elaia, which means olive.
Archaeological and scientific evidence indicates that the olive tree (Olea europaea) was most likely first cultivated on the border between Turkey and Syria, spreading from there throughout the Mediterranean, to Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Greece, Italy, France, and Spain. People in the eastern Mediterranean have been grinding olives for oil the last 6,000-8,000 years. Olive oil was used for cooking, cosmetics, medicine, and in lamps. The original Olympic torch burned olive oil. The ancient city-state of Athens was said to have been named for the deity who gave Greek culture its greatest gift: Poseidon made a bid for the prize by producing the horse, but Athena won hands down by creating the olive tree.
The Old Testament is awash in references to olives, listed along with such desirables as honey, figs, grapes, and pomegranates. To destroy an enemy’s olive trees, in Old Testament days, was the ultimate act of war. “Except the vine,” wrote Pliny the Elder in the first century CE, “there is no plant which bears a fruit of as great importance as the olive.”
Olives ripen on a tree in Duoro Valley, Portugal.
Photograph by Michael Melford, Nat Geo Image Collection
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According to food writer Harold McGee, it was the Romans who most likely came up with the technique that put the olive fruit itself on the dinner table. Earlier people had discovered that olives could be debittered by soaking them in repeated changes of water, a painstaking process that took many months. This was somewhat improved by fermenting the olives in brine, which was marginally quicker, but the Romans found that supplementing the brine with lye from wood ashes (sodium hydroxide) cut the time required for producing an edible olive from months to hours. (See this Roman recipe for spiced olives.)
Olives came to the Americas with the Spaniards: an olive grove was planted in Lima, Peru, in the mid-16th century; and Spanish Franciscans planted olives in mission gardens in California in the 1700s. While these west coast olives thrived, however, attempts to establish olives on the east coast fizzled.
Jefferson was an early olive fan: after an olive-observing Mediterranean vacation taken in 1787 while serving as America’s ambassador to France, he pronounced the olive “the worthiest plant to be introduced in America” and “the richest gift of heaven.” After frost thwarted his efforts at Monticello, he petitioned the South Carolina Society for Promoting Agriculture to plant olive trees. Encouraged, he had 500 olive cuttings shipped home from Aix-en-Provence. Like the Monticello plantings, however, these failed to survive. Jefferson blamed the South Carolinians for neglect and lack of enthusiasm, but chances are the faulty party was the climate: the southeastern United States was too humid to support olive trees.
Over 95 percent of American olives come from climate-friendly California, though this still constitutes less than one percent of the world olive market. Today the lion’s share of global olives comes from Spain. In many places in Europe, olive trees are suffering from disease (See Europe’s Olive Trees a Are Dying.)
About 90 percent of the world’s olive crop goes to make olive oil. The remainder is harvested for table olives which, though there are over 2,000 known olive cultivars, are known to most of us in two colors: green and black.
Green olives, the kind found in martinis, are picked green and unripe and then cured. These are often called Spanish olives. Tree-ripened olives, left to themselves, turn purple, due to an accumulation of anthocyanin—the same pigment that puts the purple in Concord grapes.
Black olives, though labeled as “ripe” on supermarket cans, actually aren’t: these, a California invention, are green olives that have been cured in an alkaline solution, and then treated with oxygen and an iron compound (ferrous gluconate) that turns their skins a shiny patent-leather black. Olive aficionados don’t think much of these, though in my experience, kids love the pitted versions, which are tailor-made for sticking on the ends of fingers.
There’s no need to stop here, however: there’s a wide range of scrumptious olives that many of us never see. For adventurous olive-eaters, check out A Beginner’s Guide to Olives: 14 Varieties Worth Seeking Out.
One last fact: Vincent van Gogh, who appreciated olives, painted 19 pictures of olive trees.
Don’t Wine, BRINE! | Relish!
Holiday magazines are filled with tips on how to prepare a perfect turkey, from wrapping the turkey in cheesecloth, tossing it in a cooking bag, rubbing it with a special concoction, and even hanging it from the trailer hitch while driving 50 (ok that’s an exaggeration). But, the truth be told, a simple old-fashioned brine gets the most unbelievable results.
Brining, much like baking, is a scientific process. In a nutshell, the salt solution unwinds meat proteins to form a hollow tube. The brine solution travels into the protein, carrying the flavors of the herbs and other ingredients. The solution becomes trapped inside — creating a delicious, juicy turkey that is hard to beat.
The base of brine should be kosher salt and sugar per gallon of water. With this ratio, you should brine your turkey for at least 10-24 hours. Create your own brine flavor by adding a variety of dried herbs, citrus slices, crushed garlic cloves, or any of your favorite aromatic ingredients. Some of the water can easily be substituted with orange juice or apple cider and you can replace some of the sugar with sweeteners, such as maple syrup or brown sugar.
The main logistical problem with brining is figuring out what and where to brine your turkey. You can use a clean bucket, a brining bag, a tub, or a cooler. Brining bags from Williams Sonoma (the best brining bags) hold up to a 22-pound turkey and can be easily placed inside a cooler or in the fridge.
Since brining does not preserve meat, the turkey and brine must be kept refrigerated at all times.
Some turkey wizards complain that brining makes the turkey and the gravy too salty. The brine we tested actually called for one-cup salt and sugar in 2 gallons of water and it came out just fine. We rinsed the bird well before cooking and didn’t detect any salty taste. Do not salt the turkey before roasting in case too much salt seeps in, same for your gravy.
There are many prepared brines you can purchase which is convenient but take a look at the Relish! brine. It’s simple, delicious, and uses herbs you need for the dinner too.
BRINE
1 cup salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 gallons cold water
2 oranges, quartered
2 lemons, quartered
4 sprigs fresh thyme
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 18 pound turkey*, thawed if using frozen
1 To make the brining solution, dissolve the salt and sugar in water in a non-reactive container (such as a clean bucket, a large stockpot, or a brining bag) Add the oranges, lemons, thyme, and rosemary.
2 Remove the neck, giblets, and liver from the cavity of the turkey and discard. Rinse the turkey inside and out under cold running water.
3 Make the brine and soak the turkey in the brine, covered and refrigerated, for at least 10 hours and up to 24 hours.
Brine & Inject Turkey? – The Hull Truth
11-17-2020, 05:26 AM
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Brine & Inject Turkey?
Does bringing and injecting make sense? I brined last year, turkeys turned out nice – one smoked one oven. Is there any advantage to injecting + brine? Too salty? Just to much flavor?
Looking to try something different this year.
11-17-2020, 05:31 AM
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Location: Suburb of Sugar Tit SC
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Only way it would make sense to me is if you are brining and then injecting with something like seasoned butter with no/little salt added. Wouldn’t make much sense to inject anything salty.
11-17-2020, 05:35 AM
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Perhaps if you don’t have enough time. Probably depend on ingredients also.
To me it’s just another puncture hole for the meat to lose juices through. I’d rather start brining earlier. I like the usual stock with lots of fresh herbs and seasonings,, some white wine, some fresh local apple cider. Just careful when using wine and/or cider…the sugars in them can make the skin dark if you uncover early or do a quick heat flash to try to darken the skin.
Although this year I’m not brining, Going for old school tons of lightly herbed butter, including under the skin, and the butter soaked cheese cloth draped over for a while…frequent basting.
11-17-2020, 05:52 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YeOldeStonecat
Perhaps if you don’t have enough time. Probably depend on ingredients also.
To me it’s just another puncture hole for the meat to lose juices through. I’d rather start brining earlier. I like the usual stock with lots of fresh herbs and seasonings,, some white wine, some fresh local apple cider. Just careful when using wine and/or cider…the sugars in them can make the skin dark if you uncover early or do a quick heat flash to try to darken the skin.
Although this year I’m not brining, Going for old school tons of lightly herbed butter, including under the skin, and the butter soaked cheese cloth draped over for a while…frequent basting.
Any reason you wouldn’t brine first, then do the herbed butter + cheese cloth?
11-17-2020, 06:46 AM
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If you brine make sure the bird you bought hasn’t already been brined. A lot of grocery store birds are already brined.
I smoke my birds and rarely inject. The ones I have done didn’t add enough to the flavor or moisture content so it wasn’t worth the effort.
11-17-2020, 06:50 AM
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We cook two birds. Both are brined frozen in 5 gallon buckets with lids. We start Tuesday night and they defrost in the brine. We bake one without injection and fry one with a garlic butter little spicey sauce. Turns out great.
11-17-2020, 07:12 AM
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How do you tell if a bird was prebrined?
11-17-2020, 07:16 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lhpfish285
How do you tell if a bird was prebrined?
Look on the package. Will say something along the lines of “XYZ % weight from ABC solution.” Nearly all of them are mostly salt water.
11-17-2020, 07:18 AM
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I always brine. Helps to keep the turky juicy.
Las couple of years, I have been using a basic brine – Kosher salt, Brown Sugar, Garlic powder, Black Peppercorns for 1 bird, then Ham curing a second one.
The ham cure is the same base brine with cloves and Curing salt added
11-17-2020, 08:44 AM
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Brine is Moisture.
Injection is flavor!!
11-17-2020, 10:20 AM
11-17-2020, 10:21 AM
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I beer brine mine in a 5 gallon bucket.
I buy about 10 tall boys of Honey Brown Ale. Mix that with 2lbs brown sugar, about a cup of sea salt, a whole can of peppercorns and some crushed garlic. Stick the turkey in that and then put it in the fridge for 48 hours.
11-17-2020, 10:49 AM
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Do you ladies make sandwiches for the men while your poking your poultry? Talk about feelings while cooking cranberries?
Thanksgiving is ladies work. Let them bitch and drink wine in the kitchen where they belong.
Stay away.
11-17-2020, 11:14 AM
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Turkey
I never brine or inject mine. Rub a little softened butter under the skin, salt and pepper the out side, stuff cavity with onions, carrots and celery leaves. Then smoke until done, always comes out juicy and tasty. I do put pan of apple juice under bird while smoking. Always use electronic meat thermometer to tell when done. Happy Thanksgiving All!
11-17-2020, 11:25 AM
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Water, Apple cider, brown sugar, salt, cut up orange, peppercorns, garlic cloves and rosemary. One in the oven stuffed and one in the fryer (make sure that sucker is bone dry ).
11-17-2020, 11:29 AM
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Location: Southeast Connecticut
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lazyboi1212
Do you ladies make sandwiches for the men while your poking your poultry? Talk about feelings while cooking cranberries?
Thanksgiving is ladies work. Let them bitch and drink wine in the kitchen where they belong.
Stay away.
Men do the big meat. You trust the ladies with a two and a half inch thick New York Strip on the grill?
11-17-2020, 11:31 AM
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Join Date: Jun 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lhpfish285
Any reason you wouldn’t brine first, then do the herbed butter + cheese cloth?
Well….you have a valid question there. I may test that with a larger chicken first one day. To me…brining makes the meat great, but I miss the crispy skin….as brining tends to make the skin rubbery.
The old fashioned butter way…crisp skin…but more risk of dry meat.
I’m not sure if heavy butter esp with a drenched cheese cloth can overcome the rubbery skin from the brining…and bring it back to crispy, but I’ll try on a large chicken for sure
11-17-2020, 11:35 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YeOldeStonecat
Well….you have a valid question there. I may test that with a larger chicken first one day. To me…brining makes the meat great, but I miss the crispy skin….as brining tends to make the skin rubbery.
The old fashioned butter way…crisp skin…but more risk of dry meat.
I’m not sure if heavy butter esp with a drenched cheese cloth can overcome the rubbery skin from the brining…and bring it back to crispy, but I’ll try on a large chicken for sure
rub mayonnaise on the skin.
11-17-2020, 05:11 PM
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Guys, post some brine recipes please. I always cook ham for Thanksgiving (brisket a couple of years) but have never cook a whole turkey, I’m smoking one this year. I’m planning to injected with non salted butter and chipotle rub (The Bearded Butcher Chipotle seasoning) but I want to brine it for 24 hrs. What would be a balanced water/salt/sugar ratio you guys use. Thanks.
Last edited by waheero71; 11-17-2020 at 06:06 PM.
11-17-2020, 05:21 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Suburb of Sugar Tit SC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by waheero71
Guys, post some brine recipes please. I always cook ham for Thanksgiving (brisket a couple of years) but have never cook a whole turkey, I’m smoking one this year. I’m planning to injected with non salted butter and chipotle rub (The Bearded Butcher Chipotle seasoning) but I want to brine it for 24 hrs. What would be a balanced water/salt/sugar ratio you guys use. Thanks.earded Butcher Blend Chipotle SeasoningBearded Butcher Blend Chipotle Seasoning
1-1.25 cups kosher salt and 1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar per gallon of water. I typically dial back sugar and use cheap concentrate apple juice for 1/2 of the liquid. I add pepper corns and bay leaves, but otherwise keep it simple.
to cook i stuff it with a mix of sliced yellow onion, red apple, rosemary, and a couple of cinnamon sticks. Cook at 400 on an indirect grill or oven until it hits 160. Rub skin before cooking with Mayo to make it crisp nicely.
after cooking I pull out the stuffing mix. Put about a cups or so worth in the blender (minus rosemary and cinnamon) with a can of jellied cranberry sauce (with chunky cranberries) and blend until smooth. Put that in a small pot and simmer for a bit to let flavors mesh. Basically makes a savory cranberry gravy.
Substitute Half of the Water in Your Brine With Ice
Photo: Candice Bell (Shutterstock)The Grown-Up KitchenThe Grown-Up KitchenWelcome to The Grown-Up Kitchen, Skillet’s series designed to answer your most basic culinary questions and fill in any gaps that may be missing in your home chef education.
Whether you’re planning to roast a big ‘ol turkey or a head of cauliflower, a good brine ensures the final product is tender, moist, and flavorful throughout. Simple brines are little more than sugar, salt, and water, but peppercorns, citrus zest, bay leaves, and all sorts of plant parts can be used to make things more interesting. One universal truth about brines, however, is that you must heat the liquid to get those crystalline solids into solution.
If your brine is meant for meat, it must then be cooled completely before your pork chop, turkey breast, or troupe of shrimp is submerged into those salty, sugary waters. You can wait for this to happen, or you can use some ice.
Of course, you can’t just dump a bunch of ice in your brine; that will throw off your proportions and dilute your flavors. Instead, divide the amount of water called for by your recipe in half, use that volume to dissolve your salt and sugar, then add the rest of the water in the form of ice. The ice will chill the brine as it melts, bringing it to the correct temperature and volume.
You will—I’m so sorry about this—have to do a tiny amount of math to calculate the correct amount of ice. Water expands as it freezes, meaning one cup of ice is not equal to one cup of liquid water. Luckily, a milliliter of water weighs one gram at room temperature, so all you have to do is count your milliliters, convert to grams, and weigh out that many grams of ice. Let’s use this very simple brine recipe to illustrate:
Basic Brine from myrecipes:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup salt
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 quarts cold water
- 3 bay leaves
The recipe instructs you to add all the ingredients to the pot and heat to dissolve the sugar and salt, then wait for the brine to cool completely before proceeding. To speed the process up with ice, add the salt, sugar, and leaves to the pot with a single quart of water and heat it up, dissolving everything but the leaves.
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Next, add the ice. A quart of water weighs 946 grams, so grab a bag of ice and weigh out 946 grams of ice. Add that to the brine, stir to dissolve and cool, and submerge your meat. No need to wait.
90,000 The whole truth about the popular cheese
“Cheese can be disappointing. It can be faded, tasteless, overly sophisticated. But nevertheless it will forever remain a cheese – a leap of milk into immortality ” – Writer Clifton Fadimen.
There are products in this world that are older than many historical events. Those that appeared before the Roman Empire, before Kievan Rus and are the same age as Ancient Greece. The first such product that comes to mind is wine.Indeed, the history of this noble drink goes far into antiquity. But today we will talk about the invariable companion of wine, a product for the invention of which several states have argued for a long time. This product – brine cheese made from milk, is called “feta cheese” and owes its appearance to one of the hot Arab deserts.
What is feta cheese? It is perfectly white, most often a round cheese with a sour and salty taste, which is eaten in small slices, and is also added to many dishes – from salads to meat.For its preparation, sheep, goat or cow milk is used, which, when oxidized, turns into a large white clot. It is salted, pressed, placed in an oak barrel with brine and after 20 days a delicious feta cheese is obtained. After the cheese is ready, it is sent to a cool room where it can be stored for almost six months. With the help of this technology, almost all brine dairy cheeses are made today, including Yerevan vats, suluguni, etc. But who was the first to think of bringing milk to oxidation and from ordinary curdled milk to achieve such a result as feta cheese?
The first to make this product was not a well-known chef, and not even a craftsman or artisan.The cheese owes its appearance to an ordinary Arab merchant. Four thousand years ago, an Arab merchant set out on a long journey through the hot Arabian desert. In addition to the goods, the merchant had prepared a variety of food, because the path was not close. And the goat’s milk was still splashing in the wineskin. For two days the merchant walked through the desert, completely forgetting about milk, and when he opened the wineskin, he found in it sour, already curdled milk, where a large white lump was floating in a transparent liquid. After tasting this piece, the merchant came to the conclusion that this product, although it has an unusual taste, is still edible.This is how the feta cheese was born. The technology of making brine cheese has improved every year, showing people more and more varieties of such cheeses. In the East, they began to put it in jugs of salted water, and also store it in grape juice.
However, references to cheese made from sour milk are found in Ancient Greece, namely, in Homer’s Odyssey. There Cyclops Polyphemus took half of the fresh milk, fermented it, squeezed it out and put it in a large white basket and a month later ate it with wine.The Turks drew attention to this, albeit mythical, method of making cheese. It was they who brought out several methods of making feta cheese at once, and also extended their experience to the entire Ottoman Empire. But the best students and followers were Romanians, Moldovans and Bulgarians. It was in these countries that the stable name “brinza” appeared for the cheese – that is, “sheep’s cheese”, and the dish itself became so firmly embedded in the national cuisine that it gave rise to a whole culture of dishes made from sour milk.
Gradually the fame of the cheese spread throughout Europe and came, together with the Bessarabian merchants, to the Slavs. Writer Valentin Kataev in his notes noted that:
“The Bessarabian landowner always had a wicker basket in the estate. It always contained a box of smoked mackerel, tomatoes, two or three quarts of young homemade wine and feta cheese. ”
Such popularity of feta cheese gave rise to a long-term dispute with Greece itself. Bulgarians and Romanians claimed that they own many technologies for making feta cheese, while the Greeks simply cook a clone of this cheese and try to take away the glory from them.But the Greeks, in turn, argued that they had invented a much more tender and salty cheese called feta, which, even after cooking, should be kept in brine. The dispute came to an end only in the twentieth century, when the Greeks were still able to prove to the Europeans the difference between feta cheese and feta.
There are many varieties of feta cheese. Bulgarians make their feta cheese from a mixture of cow and sheep milk, and call it gently – “siren”. They make a puff pie called “banitsa” and flat cakes like khachapuri, and they also add cheese instead of regular cheese to casseroles and even pasta.Slovaks make Liptov cheese, which, however, is not eaten in its pure form. Grind this cheese with pepper and mustard, add chives and make a wonderful sandwich putty. Inspired by this example, Hungary even invented a special type of cheese called Liptower. The dish “vertuta” is very popular in Moldova, which has already become one of the symbols of the national Moldovan cuisine. Vertuta is a dough roll with finely chopped feta cheese, which is baked until crisp.
But despite such a variety of recipes, stories and storage methods, the technology of cooking with feta cheese practically does not differ from the classic one that came to us from the Arab deserts. Only the composition of feta cheese is changed according to the type of “cow-sheep-goat milk”, sourdough and brine. Milk for feta cheese is taken not paired, already cooled and settled. It is passed through several layers of gauze, then the milk is pasteurized at 85 C, and immediately cooled. This mixture is fermented with rennet or, in other words, pepsin.The sourdough is introduced gradually, observing how a large white lump forms – this is milk curdling. The curd is cut into pieces and wrapped in several layers of cloth and a weight is placed on top to glass the serum. When the whey is gone, the feta cheese is placed in a concentrated saline solution, and after a day it is sprinkled with dry salt and left in a covered barrel or basket until fully ripened for 24 hours. The finished cheese is cut into pieces and placed in containers, pouring 20% saline solution, tightly covered with a lid and left to ripen in a cool (not cold) place for 2 weeks.Before using this brine pleasure, it is imperative to rinse a piece of feta cheese to get rid of excess salt.
As for the beneficial qualities of feta cheese, first of all it is worth highlighting their contiguity with the history of this cheese. Cheese is a long-liver not only in your kitchen, but also in the history of culinary, giving its fans a long life. For example, in the cuisine of the North Caucasus, this product is absolutely irreplaceable, and people in these regions live up to 100 years, maintaining clarity of mind and health.This is due to the fact that feta cheese contains a lot of milk protein, vitamins and phosphorus, which is so good for bones. Therefore, feta cheese is not just a delicious and interesting product. She is love itself in the art of cheese making, because if you love feta cheese, then she will love you too – and will give you longevity, health, strong teeth and bones.
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90,000 FIVE SIGNS OF QUALITY CHEESE – Mospravda-info
Brine, soft, slug and moldy inside
How to choose the right quality cheese?
First of all, good cheese cannot be cheap, because the preparation of 1 kg of this product requires at least 11 liters of milk, and its maturation takes place under strict observance of certain conditions from 30 to 90 days.But sometimes manufacturers “raise” prices for a cheese product. So, how to choose natural cheese and what to look for when buying? Five tips from Rospotrebnadzor experts.
1. Sectional view
On the cut, the cheese should have an even pattern without cracks and roughness. So, “Kostroma” and “Estonian” cheese will have “eyes” of a round or oval shape, “Rossiyskiy” – an irregular or angular shape, and a round oval or angular shape for “Gollandskiy” cheese.
2. Smooth crust
The cheese crust should be even, thin, without damage, covered with a plastic film. A thick subcrustal layer is not allowed.
3. Pleasant aroma
The aroma of a quality product should be cheesy, sweet-spicy, or slightly sour. By no means rancid, rotten, greasy. Mold is unacceptable (except for special varieties)!
4. Solid color
Depending on the type of cheese, its color can be from white to light yellow, even throughout the mass.
5. Consistency
The consistency of the correct cheese is elastic and uniform throughout the mass. Loose, cracked speaks of poor quality.
In addition, experts advise purchasing cheese in its original packaging, this is the only way to exclude the ingress of foreign bacteria. Such packaging will necessarily indicate the expiration date of the cheese, as well as its composition.
In the production of natural cheese the following are used:
– raw cow’s milk exclusively of the highest and first grade, raw skim milk;
– raw cream;
– table salt;
– bacterial starters and concentrates of lactic acid bacteria;
– natural dyes (beta-carotene and annatto extract).
ALL!
Based on materials from “My House Moscow”.
Pickled cheeses – product description on Gastronom.ru
Product description
This category includes cheeses that mature in brine – a solution of table salt. This is one of the ancient methods, it is still widespread in the East, where cheese is stored in jugs or wineskins with salt water or grape juice. This technology is also known in southern Italy, where it is called pasta filata (pulled dough) and is used in the production of fibrous cheeses such as “provolone” .
The curd is immersed in hot whey for about five hours, until it becomes stringy, after which it is pulled (often by hand) or kneaded, molded into heads and immersed in pools with cold (8-12 ° C) brine cooked in water or whey, and sometimes smoked.
Species and varieties
So, for example, the well-known suluguni is also made: its flat disc heads go on sale either fresh – after 2-3 days from the start of production, or aged – after l.5 months.This category also includes the widespread in the south of our country, especially in the Transcaucasus, in Dagestan, cheeses Tushinsky and vats , these also include feta cheese, feta and Italian mozzarella .
Often in Italy, “stretched” cheeses are kept for some time, after which a crust forms on their heads. The typical fibrous or layered structure converts to a fine grain during maturation, so Italian cheeses such as provolone and cacocavallo mature to the hard cheese stage.Southeast Europe has a rich tradition in the production of this category of cheese. This is how the Bulgarian Kashkaval , the Greek Kasseri and the Turkish Kashar Peiniri do.
If you notice an error or inaccuracy, please let us know.
BRINE WATER is … What is BRINE WATER?
- BRINE WATER
- – syn.term brines.
Geological Dictionary: in 2 volumes. – M .: Nedra.
Edited by K. N. Paffengolts and others.
1978.
- FIRM WATER
- RELICT WATER
See what “BRINE WATER” is in other dictionaries:
Water – get an up-to-date promotional code for a Crossroads discount at Akademika or buy water at a discount at a sale in Crossroads
BRASS – natural water with a mineralization of more than 35 g / kg (36 g / l), according to Vernadsky (1960), 50 g / l.By chem. R.’s composition is predominantly chloride, less often sulfate. See Classification of groundwater by the degree of mineralization. Syn. brine water. Geological … … Geological Encyclopedia
Kurorta – (German Kur treatment + Ort place) areas with natural resources for treatment and recreation (favorable climate, picturesque landscape, sources of healing mineral waters, healing mud deposits, etc.), as well as institutions, … … Medical Encyclopedia
Lysva (Obva tributary) – Lysva Characteristic Length 77 km Basin area 1370 km² Basin Caspian Sea Basin of the Kama rivers Watercourse … Wikipedia
Inva – Characteristic Length 257 km Basin area 5920 km² Basin Caspian Sea Basin of the Kama rivers → Volga Watercourse … Wikipedia
WELL – WELL, in brews, drilled brine pipe, with a pump.| sowing a well, a dugout beehive, a riser, with a slope in its entire height, from where a well, a cover for a beehive. An artesian well, bored, from which water gushes. Wells in ovens, … … Dahl’s Explanatory Dictionary
RASSINE – RASSINE, spread what, spread what is greasy, greasy; sya, suffering. and · return. within the meaning of. II. SALT salt what, salt for future use, make salting, put all the drugs moderately and observe everything you need, for good pickles, Skillfully under the Lower … … Dahl’s Explanatory Dictionary
RASSINE – RASSINE, spread what, spread what is greasy, greasy; sya, suffering.and · return. within the meaning of. II. SALT salt what, salt for future use, make salting, put all the drugs moderately and observe everything you need, for good pickles, Skillfully under the Lower … … Dahl’s Explanatory Dictionary
Salt storage – oil and gas (a. Oil / gas storage in the saltdome; n. Salzkavernenspeicher; f. Stockages de petrole et de gaz en voute de sel; and. Depositos salinas de gas y petroleo, almacenas salinas de gas y petroleo) a complex of structures consisting of … … Geological Encyclopedia
Tishkovo – Tishkovo, a climatic and balneological resort in the Moscow region, in the Pushkin district, 48 km north-east of Moscow and 12 km from the Pravda railway station, on the shore of the Pestovsky reservoir.Average temperatures in January 11 ° C, July 17 ° C … … Dictionary “Geography of Russia”
Dorokhovo – Dorokhovo. Sanatorium “Dorokhovo”. Dorokhovo, an urban-type settlement in the Moscow region, in the Ruzsky district, 85 km west of Moscow. 12 km from D. is the Dorokhovo balneological resort. Located on the left bank of the Ruza River. The climate is moderate … … Dictionary “Geography of Russia”
90,000 Using geothermal heat exchangers to heat incoming air saturates the air with microbes – true or false?
Below is a quote from the Federal Republic of Germany’s guidelines for mold prevention.
p. 85: “Geothermal heat exchangers can be used to ensure that the air entering from the outside is heated (in winter) or cooled (in summer).
The air to be heated or cooled is supplied either directly through pipes laid in the ground (ground-to-air heat exchanger), or the air is heated and cooled by means of a brine circuit located in the ground (brine geothermal heat exchanger), without direct contact with earth.
The temperature of the walls of the surface-to-air heat exchanger in the warm season (similar to the cool walls of basements) during a certain period of time can be lower than the temperature of the dew point of the air.In such cases, high relative humidity occurs on the walls of the heat exchanger or even condensation is released, which can result in microbial contamination of the air. Even with the correct removal of the resulting moisture and a good filter of the supply air, in the event of microbial contamination in the geothermal heat exchanger, the smallest microbial components, such as endotoxins or mycotoxins, should be expected to enter the interior together with the supply air. For this reason, and also in view of the difficult control of this system, the use of ground-to-air geothermal heat exchangers is not recommended.Preference should be given to brine geothermal heat exchangers or heat pumps. ”
We share this opinion and subscribe to the recommendation described in the guidelines of the Federal Republic of Germany. Energy efficient buildings, projects of which we carry out, are always designed without surface-to-air heat exchangers.
Geothermal heat exchanger.
Brine geothermal heat exchanger
Principle of operation: a mixture of brine and water is fed through a pipeline with a diameter of about 32 mm, laid in the ground at a depth of about 1.5 m.The soil temperature in Central Europe at a depth of about 1.5 m is constant throughout the year at 8 ° C. The brine / water mixture absorbs this temperature and carries it through the pump circulation circuit to the heat exchanger in the building, which in turn transfers the energy of the brine / water mixture to the outside supply air. Thus, during the winter months, the fresh air supplied through the unit to the controlled ventilation system in the building can be heated to above-zero temperatures.During the summer months, the supply air from the outside is cooled by a brine geothermal heat exchanger, which ensures a pleasantly cool indoor environment.
90,000 Lard in brine: two great recipes.
There is no time at all – I do not have time to read, I do not have time to congratulate the birthday people (I hope they will forgive me, such a scoundrel))) Every day – wake up at five in the morning, and at ten in the evening I already want to sleep unbearably. But the practice that I am now going through is worth such sacrifices – the experience that I am now gaining is simply invaluable.
The schedule is very tight, really. But I simply cannot forgive myself if I don’t share with you two findings – recipes for making salted bacon using the brine method.
Why am I interested in this particular method? Because I needed to get a guaranteed soft crust, and with dry salting, this happens every other time. It seemed to me that with brine salting, the probability of a successful outcome is much higher. And in general – it was just interesting what the brine lard would taste like, is it very different from the usual?
The recipes are not mine, from the network, looked after for a long time.
So, the first recipe.
LAT IN BRINE – 1
– 1 kg of lard with meat layer
– 1 liter of water
– 150 g of salt
– 80 g of sugar
– 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
– 1/2 tsp allspice
– 3 bay leaves
Cook the marinade (brine) from water, salt, sugar and spices – bring the water to a boil, add salt, sugar and spices and cook for 10 minutes. Cool the marinade.
Cut the bacon into 5×15 cm pieces and put them in a jar.
Pour marinade over, cover and refrigerate. The lard will be ready in 5-6 days.
Store the prepared bacon in brine and take out of it as needed, dry it with a paper towel and sprinkle it with spices.
For more information on feeding, see the following recipe.
Source
LAT IN BRINE – 2
– 1 kg of lard with meat layer
– 1 liter of water
– 300 g of salt
– 1 head of garlic
– 6 small bay leaves
– 1 tsp.l. black peppercorns
– 1 tsp allspice
– 2 tsp coriander seeds
mix for rolling No. 1:
– 1 tbsp. l. ground paprika (smoked)
– 1 tsp. hot chili peppers in flakes
– 1. h. l. garlic granules
– juice and zest of 1 lemon
rolling mix No. 2:
– 1 tsp. white peppercorns, crush
– 1 tsp. black peppercorns, crush
– 1 tsp. pink peppercorns, crush
– 1 head of garlic, squeeze out
Place all brine ingredients in a small saucepan.Bring to a boil and cool.
Cut the bacon into large pieces (as in the previous recipe).
Pour lard in a jar with cold saline solution, cover and refrigerate for 4 days.
Remove the bacon from the solution and pat dry with a paper towel. Wrap each piece tightly in foil and place in the freezer for 24 hours.
In small containers, combine the rolling spices and roll each piece of bacon in the desired spices.
Wrap bacon in foil again and refrigerate for 24 hours.After that, the fat is ready to eat.
Store in foil in refrigerator.
Source
I have already taken the first sample, I could not stand it, I have not even rolled it in spices yet, but it is already clear – it is very tasty. And the skin was a success)))
Camembert and brie in a mousetrap do not! | Events | SOCIETY
How much cheese do you need to eat in order not to get sick? Is it true that processed cheese
– not a natural product? We asked the deputy director to answer all these questions.
All-Russian Research Institute of Butter and Cheese Making
Dmitry PERFILYEV.
MANY are used to talking –
“Dozens of varieties …” In fact, there are only two varieties: the highest and the first. Cheese can
divided into three broad categories: rennet
(hard), fermented milk (soft)
and fused . The first are,
for example, edam, dutch, kostroma,
Poshekhonsky, Estonian, Roquefort. These cheeses are prepared from pasteurized
milk with the addition of rennet. They ripen longer, but longer.
are stored.
Fermented (soft) cheese is a product of natural milk curdling. Many of them can
cook at home. The most famous soft cheeses are brie and camembert. They are prepared
from whole, mainly cow’s milk.
To this group also
include pickled cheeses. These are the most
“Ancient” from cheeses. They are traditionally prepared in the Caucasus, although they are widespread and
among many southern European peoples, and in Central Asia. The most famous –
suluguni, feta cheese and chechil.These are cheeses with a spicy taste and a lot of salt. Have
brine cheeses have no crust, they are usually dense and brittle. They are prepared from
sheep, goat or a mixture of goat and cow milk. Ripen and stored
they are in brine in wineskins, jugs or pots.
According to the classic recipe
flavors (herbs, mushrooms) are not added to the cheese. And different tastes are achieved for
calculation of heating temperature, rennet use, cheese aging,
fat content of milk, etc.Many consider processed cheeses to be unnatural.
This is not true. Most of them are really melted rennet cheese. But in
fat is added to it, so processed cheese is more high-calorie. Such
products should only use milk fat. Some manufacturers
trying to replace it with a vegetable one. But this must be indicated on
packaging.
CHEESE is a medicinal product.
It contains no substances that negatively affect digestion.And the content
protein in this product is 20% higher than in meat. At the same time, it is absorbed almost for
100%, since the protein already undergoes a special
processing.
Up to 40% of people are bad
perceive lactose (milk sugar). For some, it causes allergies. And here
cheese is even recommended for people with diabetes, since it does not contain lactose.
In recent years, very
the fight against cholesterol is fashionable. So, the fats contained in cheese do not have
significant effect on the content of cholesterol in human blood.
In rennet (hard) cheeses
live beneficial bacteria that have anticarcinogenic
action. Thus, those who eat cheese frequently are less at risk.
get cancer. But fermented milk cheeses are very useful for children, since they
rich in calcium . Also in the composition
cheese contains lecithin, affecting
digestion and proper metabolism of fats in the body, and vitamins A, B1, B2, B12.
Nutrition Institute
recommends eating about 6 kilograms of cheese per year, or about 16 grams
(small piece) per day.
