What does brined mean?
Brined is the past tense and past participle of the verb brine, meaning to soak or cure food in a concentrated solution of salt dissolved in water, often with sugar, herbs, or spices added. The technique has been used for centuries as a means of preservation, long before refrigeration made curing unnecessary, and it remains central to preparing foods such as pickles, olives, corned beef, feta cheese, and holiday turkeys. Salting draws water into muscle tissue through osmosis, so properly brined meats stay moist and evenly seasoned through cooking rather than drying out. In modern usage the word appears chiefly in recipes, cookbooks, and food journalism, where phrases like brined turkey or wet-brined pork chop are commonplace. A rare figurative sense describes someone thoroughly steeped in a trade or environment. The word derives from brine, an Old English term for salty water that also gives us the adjective briny.
verbPast tense and past participle of "brine": to soak or preserve food, especially meat or vegetables, in a solution of salt and water.
- (of food) soaked or preserved in a brine solution
- (figurative) steeped or saturated in something, as if immersed
"The chef brined the turkey overnight to keep the breast meat moist during roasting."
"The olives were brined for weeks before they lost their bitterness."
"A veteran of forty years at sea, he was brined in the language and lore of the harbor."
That juicy Thanksgiving turkey almost certainly spent its last night swimming in salt water — brining can boost moisture retention by up to ten percent.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of brined
Brined comes from the verb brine, formed on the noun brine, which descends from Old English brīne, meaning salty water or the sea. The noun has cognates in other Germanic languages, such as Middle Dutch brīne. The culinary verb sense developed later, and the past participle brined became widespread in cooking vocabulary as wet-curing techniques entered everyday home kitchens, particularly in North America during the late twentieth century.
Related word forms
How brined is actually used
Primarily culinary register; common in food writing, recipes, and restaurant menus, especially American. The figurative sense is rare and literary.
Easily confused with brined
"Brinded" is an archaic adjective meaning streaked or brindled in color, whereas "brined" refers to having been soaked in salt water.