On 10/31/2016 at 10:25 AM, btbyrd said:Whether marinades penetrate depends on what's in the marinade. Molecular size is key. Salt is relatively small compared to most flavor molecules, and this feature (along with its ionic activity) help it penetrate where other molecules cannot tread.
The best online (non-academic) resource I've found on testing brines and marinades is Greg Blonder's blog 'Genuine Ideas.' Here are some of the most relevant posts:
This post uses chemical dyes with different molecular sizes to investigate how far into meat flavor molecules can travel.
This post investigates the rates of diffusion for various salts (table salt, curing salt, MSG) into animal proteins.
This post investigates the extent to which sugar in a brine adds flavor to the interior of meat.
Lots of quality reading on that site.
Wow great read!
What do you think about herbs and salt? Do you think Herbs' flavor molecules will travel with the salt into the meat?
Thomas Keller uses herbal salt for his Duck Confit. He puts salt, thyme, parsley, and bay leaves into a spice grinder. He grinds it up to make a green herbal salt. He covers the duck with this herbal salt and lets it sit in the fridge for 24 hours. Then he washes off the herbal salt, and then braises it in duck fat for another 10 hours. That means the herbs are no longer on top of the meat during the braise.
Did the herb molecules travel with the salt into the duck?
If not, why not just add herbs at the end of cooking?
