Sea salt being added raw ham to make Prosciutto.

Salting is the preservation of food with dry salt. It is related to pickling (preparing food with brine, i.e. salty water). It is one of the oldest methods of preserving food, and two historically significant such foods are dried and salted cod (usually referred to as salt fish) and salt-cured meat.

Salting is used because most bacteria, fungi and other potentially pathogenic organisms cannot survive in a highly salty environment, due to the hypertonic nature of salt. Any living cell in such an environment will become dehydrated through osmosis and die or become temporarily inactivated.

Jewish and Muslim dietary laws require the removal of blood from freshly slaughtered meat, which may be accomplished with the use of salt or brine.

[edit] See also

• Curing (food preservation)
• Food storage
• Food preservation