food ageing curing of food A food ageing process involving the addition of salt or sugar, with an objective of reducing water content in the material by osmosis. LanguaL note: Such changes may be induced by the introduction of certain chemicals, such as sodium sulfite, salt, sugar, or other substances, such as phenolics, in dry or liquid form and often aided by smoke. Cheese should always be indexed by the appropriate narrower term under *LACTIC ACID-OTHER AGENT FERMENTED*. aged