What Is the Meaning of Blanched?

Seal in the flavor, color and crispness by blanching.

Food that is "blanched" has undergone blanching, a technique that allows you to quick-cook vegetables without losing color, flavor, nutrients or crispness. Blanched vegetables are good for salads and appetizers, but perhaps the most common reason people blanch vegetables is to freeze them. This allows you to enjoy nearly garden-fresh vegetables all year long.

Significance

Uncooked vegetables turn brown and mushy because of the presence of enzymes that break down the plant cells. These enzymes are active even at freezing temperatures, which is why frozen veggies can lose flavor and nutrients. Heating vegetables to about 180 degrees Fahrenheit will kill the enzymes--but fully cooking them can produce some of the same effects you're trying to avoid: limp vegetables with thin flavor. That's where blanching comes in.

Process

To properly blanch vegetables, you need a pot of boiling water and a bowl of ice water. In the pot, you want at least one gallon of water for every pound of vegetables. The water-to-food ratio is important. Using less water will extend the cooking time--which, as food writer Kathy Maister's website notes, completely defeats the purpose of blanching. Start by placing the vegetables into the boiling water, using a wire basket if you have one available. Let them cook for a few minutes, then pull them out. Immediately drop them into the ice water, and leave them there about as long as they were in the hot water. Remove when cool.

Time Frame

Different vegetables have different blanching times. For example, according to the National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia, asparagus should stay in the boiling water two to four minutes, depending on stalk size. Celery takes three minutes, corn on the cob about seven to 11 minutes, and peas about two minutes.

Alternative

You can blanch vegetables by steaming them rather than boiling. Put a steaming basket in a pan. A steaming basket has "feet" that keep the bottom of the basket elevated, allowing you to boil water underneath the contents. The National Center for Home Food Preservation recommends a basket that allows 3 inches of water underneath. Heat the water to boiling. Add vegetables to the basket, cover the pan tightly and allow the veggies to steam. Remove the basket and dunk it in the ice water. Steaming times should generally be about 30 seconds to a minute longer than boiling times.

Benefits

In additions to killing enzymes and "setting" the color and crispness of the vegetables, blanching cleans the surface of the food and can reduce the bitter taste of certain vegetables. You can also use blanching to soften the skins of tomatoes, peaches and other soft fruits to make them easier to peel.

References

• National Center for Home Food Preservation
• Kathy Maister's StartCooking.com
• Ochef