Blanching

From Cooking Wiki

Blanching Basic Information Difficulty 1/5 Cook Time Very Short Required Tools/Ingredients Ingredients Needed Water

Blanching is a food preparation technique that involves submerging the food into boiling water for a very short time—often mere seconds. This is often immediately followed by plunging the food into an ice water bath (bringing the cooking process to a rather sudden halt).

Common uses for blanching include:

• Peeling: Blanching loosens the skin's hold on the flesh of many fruits (ie: peaches, tomatoes, and almonds), often to the point of allowing one to simply rub the skin right off.
• Enhancement: Blanching can, in some foods such as broccoli, enhance flavor by leeching out bitter acids stored within the food's cells. It can also enhance color (especially in green vegetables) by leeching out gases that obscure the natural vibrant green of chlorophyll.
• Preservation: Blanching can help to preserve food by killing off bacteria in the food without actually cooking it. It also slows down the enzymatic processes that cause food to break down over time, thus lengthening their life.