How to Blanch Vegetables

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How to Blanch Vegetables

Blanching vegetables is a technique used to preserve their crispness, tenderness, texture and color. Here’s how to blanch vegetables properly.

Materials

Vegetables
Salt
Large pots
Knife or kitchen scissors
Ice cubes

Procedure

Fill a big pot with water only slightly up to half.

blanched veggies

Boil the water to a rapid boil in high heat. Add just enough salt to the water so that it tastes faintly salty.
Get a separate medium-sized bowl and put ice cubes until it is 3/4 full. Put cold water in just enough to cover the surface of the cubes.
Working quickly, trim the vegetables into the size you need. Remove the unwanted parts. Do this just before you submerge them in the water to minimize oxidation or dehydration.
Once the water is in full boil, add the vegetables in small batches. This is done so that the water doesn’t lose its boil.
Keep boiling until the vegetables are barely cooked but already tender. Test it by dipping a slotted spoon or ladle into the water, taking out a vegetable, dipping it into the cold water and biting into it.
Use the slotted ladle to fish out the vegetables out of the boiling water. Submerge them in the ice water and let them stay until they are no longer warm.
You may then reheat the vegetables in any way you like. Just keep in mind that they will require a shorter heating time than the other ingredients you may use. Barely heat them up, do not cook them.

Blanching Times

Here are the recommended blanching times for each vegetable according to The Joy of Cooking. Adding a teaspoon of Vitamin C in every cup of water is said to improve the blanching process.