What Does The Term Blanch Mean?

Blanching basically is an expression applied in cooking for the procedure of food preparation wherein the food stuff  mainly a vegetable or a fruit is dipped in boiling water and is later removed after a short period of time.

It is then immediately dipped into iced water or put under cold running water to stop the cooking procedure. Blanching is useful in many ways, blanching helps in loosening the skin of fruits, nuts, and also vegetables like onions, tomatoes, plums, peaches, almonds, etc. Blanching also improves the flavour of certain vegetables for example broccoli, by letting out bitter acids which are collected in the cellular structure of the food.

Blanching usually gives a better colour to food stuffs especially green vegetables. Blanching also counteracts bacteria as well as the enzymes which are there in the food.