Curing
<p><b >Curing</b> refers to various <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_preservation" title="Food preservation" >food preservation</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasoning" title="Seasoning" >flavoring</a> processes, especially of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat" title="Meat" >meat</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish(food)" title="Fish (food)" >fish</a>, by the addition of a combination of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edible_salt" title="Edible salt" class="mw-redirect" >salt</a>,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrate" title="Nitrate" >nitrates</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrite" title="Nitrite" >nitrite</a><sup id="cite_ref-uog_0-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curing(food_preservation)#cite_note-uog-0" >[1]</a></sup> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar" title="Sugar" >sugar</a>. Many curing processes also involve<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking(food)" title="Smoking (food)" class="mw-redirect" >smoking</a>, the process of flavoring, or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking" title="Cooking" >cooking</a>. The use of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drying(food)" title="Drying (food)" >food dehydration</a> was the earliest form of food curing.<sup id="cite_ref-uog_0-1" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curing_(food_preservation)#cite_note-uog-0" >[1]</a></sup></p>