Blanching

Blanching, in my humble opinion, has a terrible name that conjures up anything but delicious tasting food. But fear not, it’s a quick and easy technique. It’s great for bringing the vibrant green color out of your green beans, releasing the bitter acids stored in broccoli, loosening tomato, peach or almond skins and killing bacteria on food before it is preserved. But the reason I like blanching the most is that it lets you save your surplus fruits and veggies for later eating. Ever wonder why the carrots, Swiss chard or corn that you put directly from the fridge to the freezer gets freezer burn and doesn’t taste good? Blanching slows the action of enzymes in food. If you don’t blanch your fruits and veggies before freezing them, the enzymes will continue to be active in your freezer causing loss of color, flavor and nutritional value. Basically it’s a sad-looking shell of its past vibrant self when you go to retrieve it.

Here are the steps to blanching perfection:

1. Bring a pot of water – with a pinch of salt — to a boil.
2. While you are waiting for the water to boil wash your veggies and chop them if needed.
3. When the water begins to rapidly boil, place your veggies in the water for a few minutes. Timing will depend on the particular food you are blanching but it shouldn’t take more than about three minutes tops. You want to make sure they are crisp but cooked.
4. While you wait for your veggies, fill up a big bowl of ice-cold water. This will be used to stop the cooking process.
5. As soon are your veggies are done, remove them from the water and plunge them into their ice bath.
6. When they have cooled, they are ready to freeze or eat!

Tagged as: boil, Tips, vegetables