In cooking, brining is a process similar to marination in which a food is soaked in a salt solution (the brine) before cooking. In many foods this has the effect of moisturizing the food through osmosis. Smoked foods are often brined to prevent them from drying excessively during the smoking process. In many foods the additional salt is also desirable as a preservative. Note that kosher meats are salted during the process of koshering so they should not be brined.