BACK TO BASICS: BLANCHING
Originally published by Tramontina USA
Spring and summer produce makes any good cook want to stop time to spend their days wandering through farmers’ markets for the greenest goodies in town. Once you bring them home, there are tons of ways to cook the veggies, but when it comes to capturing the freshest flavors and purest nutrients, blanching is the way to go. This simple method maintains raw veggies’ crisp texture and brings out color, all while softening their tough fibers.
All there is to it is throwing vegetables (and sometimes fruit) into a pot of salted boiling water for a few minutes, then quickly submerging the produce into ice-cold water to stop the cooking process. Boiling is a similar process, but it won’t yield the same results. When you boil your carrots their orange carotin won’t shine as bright, and it’s easy to overcook them into mush. You could boil broccoli florets, but you’ll cook a lot of the nutrients out of the cruciferous. Blanching is the best of both worlds. Here's how:
CHOOSE YOUR POT
Find a pot that works for the amount of produce you’ll be blanching. We like to use a 6 Qt. pot so there is ample room. If you’re only blanching a few handfuls of peas, feel free to go with something smaller.
BOIL WATER
Fill the pot about ⅔ full with water, and add a few tablespoons of salt. You want way more than you think—aim for as salty as ocean water. The veggies will only be in the water for a few minutes, so they won’t have much time to absorb very much salt. We recommend about 1 Tablespoon of salt per quart. Bring the water up to a rolling boil.
PREPARE YOUR PRODUCE
While you’re waiting for the water to boil, get chopping. It’s best to blanch one kind of veggie at a time as they all cook at different rates. If you’re working with larger items like cauliflower or thick carrots, make sure to cut them down to similar sizes to ensure uniform cooking.
DRAW AN ICE BATH
Grab a large mixing bowl and fill it ¾ full with cold water and ice.
DROP THEM IN
Drop the veggies into the boiling water. You can either set a timer based on some of our suggestions or go by taste. We recommend doing a combination of both, as veggies vary by region and freshness. After about 1 minute, remove a piece, dunk it into the cold water, and taste for doneness. Doneness is generally based on your own preferences, but you want the veggies to be al dente—to snap between your teeth and be softened just a bit.
COOL THEM DOWN
Once they’ve reached desired doneness, remove them from the boiling water with tongs or a sieve to dunk them into the ice bath. Let them sit for a minute to cool off and then remove, setting them on a plate lined with a paper towel.
KEEP GOING
You can use the same water to boil additional varieties of veggies, as long as you’re okay with the favors meshing. Just make sure to bring the water back up to a rolling boil before adding the next batch. Covering the pot with a lid for a few minutes usually does the trick.
WHAT TO BLANCH
There are all kinds of vegetables that work well: swiss chard, asparagus, peas, green beans. We tested a few of our favorites. Here’s how long they should be cooking in salty, boiling water.
Broccoli florets: 3 minutes
Cauliflower florets: 4 minutes
Fava beans, shelled: 1 minute (remove 2nd outer skin after blanching)
Carrot sticks: 3 minutes
Carrots, julienned: 2 minutes
WHEN TO BLANCH
Blanch tomatoes and stone fruits to quickly remove skins for canning, lightly scoring the bottom of each with an X beforehand. Note that when blanching fruit, we don’t recommend adding salt, unless you want salty fruit.
Blanch stocks of broccolini for big dinner parties the night before and toss them in a skillet with oil and seasonings just a few minutes before serving.
Blanch bundles of asparagus to keep them from wilting in your fridge.
Blanch spinach or swiss chard for a cheesy quiche.
Blanch fresh basil to brighten up pesto.
Blanch seasonal veggies and freeze for cold winter months.
Blanch English peas and asparagus in our Spring Grain Bowl.