What is blanching? And how to use it to cook vegetables

You may have heard cooking shows or a recipe mentioning the cooking term "blanching", but if someone asked you how to blanch vegetables, perhaps green beans, would you know how? Well, after reading this, you will.

Blanching is when foods (usually fruits and vegetables) are briefly submerged in boiling water and then immediately cooled to stop further cooking.

The technique deactivates enzymes that can affect the flavour, colour, and texture of produce, allowing it to be stored in peak condition. Blanched foods are cooked so briefly that they are still considered raw.

When blanching, your vegetables can go from bright to dull and overcooked very quickly, so the challenge is to cook the vegetables without losing colour.

With blanching you can save time that would have been spent at the stove or oven by blanching a large number of veggies for only a few minutes before plunging them into cold water.

Blanching can be all the cooking you need to do for a single meal on a hot summer afternoon but there are other times when blanching is a step along the path to producing casseroles or other meals that require more intricate preparation.

You can save time and maintain efficiency at dinner parties by blanching veggies to par-cook them.

How to blanch vegetables?

Fortunately, the process of blanching is quite easy. It’s little more than boiling an ingredient for a designated amount of time. The trick is to begin timing as soon as you place vegetables in boiling water.

Set a timer for accuracy because under-blanching can stimulate enzymes, making it worse than not blanching at all. Over-blanching can cause veggies to lose flavour and colour.

For blanching any vegetable, start by filling a large pot with water.

• Heat water to boiling. Add washed and trimmed veggies to the boiling water (or place them in a wire basket, lower it into the water and cover.)
• Cook the vegetables in boiling water for one to five minutes.
• When the colour of the veggie you are cooking becomes bright and vibrant, it's done.
• Fill a large, clean bowl with ice water. When blanching time is complete, use a slotted spoon to remove the veggies from the boiling water.
• Immediately plunge veggies into the ice water. Chill for the same amount of time they were boiled and drained in a colander.

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