Blanching is essentially partially cooking foods in boiling water (sometimes fat, as is the case with French fries). This method of par-cooking provides numerous benefits, including setting the bright color on certain vegetables, like asparagus and peas. Blanching is done on many vegetables destined for the freezer, not only to set the color, but also to help speed up the cooking process once the foods are ready for their final destination–your plate.
After vegetables are blanched in boiling water, the next step is to plunge the vegetables into a bowl of ice-cold water to immediately stop the cooking process. This is called shocking (no wonder!). Always have a bowl of ice water (called an ice bath) ready before the water for blanching comes to a boil. In many cases, the vegetables will only be in the boiling water for a minute, and if the ice water is not ready, the vegetables will be overcooked, even when removed from the boiling water.
Blanching also is done to slip the skins off fruits, such as peaches, and vegetable fruits, like tomatoes. Cutting an “X” on the end opposite the stem ensures the easy peeling after shocking.
I love to blanch asparagus to set the color and oh-so lightly cook the tender spears. After a quick plunge in an ice bath to stop the cooking process and to chill the asparagus, it’s ready to serve as a nutritious munchy before dinner. Drizzle with a little vinaigrette, or a dab of mayonnaise and a sprinkle of lemon zest and you’ve got a simple, but elegant appetizer.
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