macerate
MA-suh-rayt
/ˈmæsəreɪt/
To soften or break up food by soaking it in a liquid, often sugar or alcohol.
Unlike steeping (which extracts flavor into the liquid), macerating often focuses on changing the texture of the solid food itself.
The story behind the word. Derived from the Latin 'macerare', meaning to make soft or tender. It shares a distant ancestor with the word 'mash'.
Word relationships
- soak: A general term; macerate implies a specific intent to soften or break down.
- dehydrate: To remove moisture and harden rather than soften.
Commonly confused with
- marinate: Marinating is for savory foods (meat) using acid/oil; macerating is for fruit using sugar/alcohol.
Word family
- maceration (noun): The process of softening by soaking.
Collocations
- macerate in sugar
- macerated fruit
- macerate overnight
Example sentences
- "The recipe suggests you macerate the strawberries in balsamic vinegar and sugar for an hour." Preparing a dessert.
- "The digestive enzymes begin to macerate the food long before it reaches the stomach." Biological process.
Memory hook
Macerate sounds like 'mash' and 'marinate' combined. Soak to soften.
When not to use
Do not use for savory meat soaking; that is usually 'marinating'. Macerating is almost always for fruits or vegetables.
Fun facts
- In winemaking, 'carbonic maceration' is a process where whole grapes are fermented in a CO2-rich environment without being crushed.
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