Food - Drink
The Blanching Mistake That’s Costing You Major Veggie Flavor
By MATTHEW SPINA
Blanching is a quick and easy way to cook vegetables by briefly boiling them in water, but even though blanching is known to be fast, you can still get the timing wrong.
Most veggies only need a few minutes to blanch, and boiling them in water for too long makes them flavorless and overcooked. That's not the only way to over-blanch foods, either.
Even after you remove them from the water, blanched vegetables will continue to cook from residual heat. They'll lose their moisture as it evaporates in the form of steam.
At the same time, the veggies' texture will break down, and they'll appear as if you boiled them for too long. There are a few steps you can take to prevent this sorry result.
Plunge veggies into ice water right after blanching to stop them from cooking. If you want to keep them warm instead, coat them in oil to create a barrier that seals in moisture.