3 April, 2023
Osmosis In Food | How Does It Work?
What is Osmosis? How does it work in cooking? How does Osmosis help us in our kitchen?
I always keep learning the art and techniques of preparing food. And I never forget to share all my learnings with my fellow foodies. Today I’m covering how Osmosis works in cooking.
Osmosis:
In Scientific language, Osmosis is the diffusion or movement of solvent molecules (or water molecules) through a semipermeable membrane from a region of high water potential (low solute concentration) to a region of low water potential (high solute concentration). This tends to equalize the solute concentrations on both sides.
How does it work in cooking?
Osmosis works in cooking to reduce the moisture content of foods.
Some vegetables have high water content or moisture inside and this is important to let this water extract before using it for some recipes.
For instance, if we are making any kind of Dumpling, be it Momos or Spring Rolls, it has vegetable stuffing inside. If the vegetables don’t lose water before stuffing, then these vegetables will release the water inside the covering of these dumplings. It may result in tearing of dumpling coverings. So make sure to do this step of extraction of water from vegetables before the covering of dumpling is done.
How is the extraction of water done in cooking?
Salting:
- Add a generous amount of Salt to the chopped vegetables.
- Mix well and leave it aside for 10 minutes.
- Vegetables will start losing the water. Then we can squeeze out all the water and use it for stuffing.
This process of “Extraction of Water” is called “Osmosis” or “Osmotic Dehydration”. The movement of water molecules from a region of high water to a region of low water.
The process used for the partial removal of water from foods to reduce its moisture content.
In some recipes, Salt works as a Solute substance. It helps in reducing the moisture content of foods. Salt works as Solute and Water as Solvent. Basically, the water will travel towards the Salt crossing the membrane.
Shelf Life: Also, the moisture or high water content inside fruits or vegetables makes it spoil quickly. “Osmotic Dehydration” increases the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Salt and Sugar works as Solute to increase the shelf life. It makes the Osmotic Dehydration work and preserves the food.
Note: Any solution is composed of two or more substances. A solute is a substance dissolved in another substance, known as solvent.
Osmosis is the movement of a solvent molecule across a semipermeable membrane toward a higher concentration of solute.