How do sugar and salt help in food preservation?

Answer 1

Both sugar and salt can preserve equally well and have been used as preservatives since bygone days. Salt is better used to preserve meat while sugar would do well as a preservative for fruits.

Answer 2

High-salt and high-sugar mixtures preserve food because they are absorbent relative to the internal fluid of microorganisms, causing them to shrivel up and eventually die. When a layer of a high-salt or high-sugar substance is used to preserve food, the food is protected from microbial invasions. This is a more sophisticated way to preserve food than the oldest method - simply letting it dry out. With salt and sugar, one can theoretically preserve food for decades without it being consumed by bacteria. The value of a method to reliably preserve food can hardly be understated. Prior to refrigeration, which is only about a century old, a preserve was the only way that an autumn harvest could be stored throughout harsh winters.

Answer 3

salt and sugar are both preservatives but you have to have a greater amount of sugar for it to be a preservative.

Answer 4

Salt, deffinately! I learnt this back when I was at school!

Answer 5

Sugar and salt preserve food by creating a hypertonic environment.In simple words they take out the water from the organism and hence the fungi/bacteria cant reproduce.

Answer 6

salt ftw ! sugar is bad