DictionarycornPreserving with salt
verb

corn

To preserve meat with coarse salt.

The butcher corns beef with coarse salt to preserve it.

Etymology

Old English corn meant a grain or small hard particle. Corning meat uses grains of coarse salt, giving the preserving method the name of the particles applied.

More examples

  • We corn the brisket before storing it in the refrigerator.
  • They corned the meat to make it keep longer.
  • Corned beef tastes salty even after cooking.

Forms

corn · corns · corned · corning

Similar words

salt
Means treating food with salt, not necessarily preserving it.
cure
Covers preserving food by salting, drying, or other methods.