What Is Blanching?
Blanching is a process of cooking food (often vegetables) in boiling water for a few minutes before transferring it to an ice water bath, which shocks the vegetable and stops the cooking process. The result is a vibrantly colored, slightly cooked vegetable that is still crisp and ideal for freezing or use in a favorite recipe.
Why Should I Blanch Broccoli?
Blanching has a number of benefits.
It destroys any dirt or microorganisms that may still remain on your broccoli. Blanching stops the action of enzymes naturally present in vegetables that change the color, flavor, and texture when you freeze your broccoli. This means more appealing and tasty florets when the broccoli is thawed. It slows the loss of valuable nutrients, which is especially important when you plan to freeze broccoli for an extended period of time, and enhances the color of the vegetable.Blanching keeps the color bright green so you don’t get dull gray-green florets in your favorite broccoli casserole.
Use Blanched Broccoli in These Recipes
Broccoli Cheese Casserole Broccoli Rice Casserole from Scratch Broccoli Salad Broccoli Beef Stir-Fry Broccoli Cheddar Egg Bites
The size of pot and amount of water you need will depend on how much broccoli you will be blanching. The National Center for Home Food Preservation suggests using one gallon of water per pound of vegetables. Did you love the recipe? Leave us stars below!
