Category:Blanched

Blanching is a cooking technique involving boiling food (usually fruit and vegetables) in water for a very short time. Blanching can often be followed by plunging the food into cold water to stop the cooking process. Though the word means to make something white or pale, blanching certain vegetables like broccoli will keep their vivid colour. Blanching is commonly used to remove skins from tomatoes and almonds.

Vegetables are often blanched prior to freezing or canning. This helps preserve the food by slowing down or halting enzyme action that causes foods to break down, losing colour, flavour, and nutritional value.

Blanching is similar to parboiling, which also involves boiling food briefly in water. Certain vegetables may benefit from being blanched or parboiled before being stir-fried. One quick way to blanch vegetables is to boil your fresh produce in water, with salt, for about 30 seconds.

Blanching as a cookery method

Recipes in this category contain procedures where food is blanched.