The action of the marinade actually softens the foods by breaking down the structure and fibres. In Rubs are a form of marinating too but are made up of only dry ingredients - usually a combination of herbs, spices, salt and sugar. Meat, poultry or fish benefit from this type of marinating whereby the rub is sprinkled onto the food and left to chill in a refrigerator for a while. Once sprinkled the rub should be patted onto the food as rubbing-in can clog up the pores in the food, especially in meat. Containing the Flavour Use plastic, glass or ceramic containers for marinating as metal containers can react with the acids and spoil the flavour.
Shallow vessels are best as the marinade covers more surface area.
Tell us on the message boards . Get the best from the Food website by getting webwise .