Blanching

Blanching is a cooking term that describes a process of food preparation wherein the food substance, usually a vegetable or fruit, is plunged into boiling water, removed after a brief, timed interval and finally plunged into iced water or placed under cold running water (shocked) to halt the cooking process.

Uses of blanching

• Peeling Blanching loosens the skin on some fruits or nuts, such as onions, tomatoes, plums, peaches, or almonds.

• Flavor Blanching enhances the flavor of some vegetables, such as broccoli, by releasing bitter acids stored in the cellular structure of the food.

• Appearance Blanching enhances the color of some (particularly green) vegetables by releasing gases trapped in the cellular material that obscure the greenness of the chorophyll.  Since blanching is done - and halted - quickly, the heat does not have time to break down chlorophyll as well.

• Shelf life Blanching neutralises bacteria and enzymes present in foods, thus delaying spoilage. This is often done as a preparatory step for freezing vegetables.

Blanching can also describe deep frying in oil at a lower temperature as with the initial cooking of french fries/chips.