What process involves replacing the water content of a vegetable with a concentrated salt solution?

The process that involves replacing the water content of a vegetable with a concentrated salt solution is osmosis. Osmosis is defined as the movement of water across a semipermeable membrane from a region of lower solute concentration to a region of higher solute concentration. When a vegetable is immersed in a concentrated salt solution, water inside the vegetable moves out toward the salt solution, which has a higher concentration of solutes (salt). This results in the vegetable losing water and becoming more concentrated in terms of flavor and texture.

The other processes listed do not accurately describe the phenomenon in question. Gelling refers to the formation of a gel-like structure, often involving the thickening of liquids through the use of gelling agents. Diffusion describes the movement of molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration, which may occur alongside osmosis but does not specifically address the movement of water as influenced by solute concentration in the context of this question. Retrogradation refers to the reassociation of starch molecules after they have been gelatinized and cooled, which is unrelated to the process of replacing water content with a salt solution.

Thus, osmosis is the correct answer as it directly describes the mechanism through which water is displaced in the presence of