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Cooking encyclopedia Techniques

Blanching

Also called parboiling

Brief cooking in heavily boiling water, usually followed by cooling.

100 ยฐC (212 ยฐF)

What it is

Use far more water than food so the temperature barely dips when the food goes in. Salt it properly. Lift the food out while it still has bite, and cool it if you are not serving it immediately.

Why it works

A short, very hot bath sets colour by driving out the air trapped in plant tissue, and stops the enzymes that would otherwise dull and soften the vegetable. Cooling immediately stops the cooking that residual heat would continue.

When to use it

Green vegetables before freezing or dressing; loosening tomato and peach skins; taming raw onion or garlic; par-cooking potatoes before roasting.

What goes wrong

Too little water, so the boil stalls and the vegetable stews grey; leaving food in the cooling water long enough to go soggy; forgetting to dry it before it meets hot fat.

Meridian cooking encyclopedia โ€” Watchman Productions

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