The Brining reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004
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Brining

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In cooking, brining is a process similar to marination in which a food is soaked in a salt solution (the brine) before cooking. In many foods this has the effect of moisturizing the food through osmosis. The salt in the brine also helps meats retain moisture while cooking. In many foods the additional salt is also desirable as a preservative. Note that kosher meats are salted during the process of koshering so they should not be brined.