How to Blanch Vegetables

Name: Melissa Fabbio

Bio: Melissa Fabbio is a professional chef native to Austin, TX. She is currently the Pastry Supervisor for McGuire Moorman Hospitality Group, which includes such renowned Austin restaurants as Perla's, Lambert's and Elizabeth St. Cafe. Previously, she worked for Chef Thomas Keller at the world famous Bouchon Bakery in Yountville, California. Fabbio attended The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

Blanching vegetables helps them maintain their crispness and color, improves flavor and reduces the chance of bacterial contamination. The basic technique involves briefly cooking vegetables in boiling salted water, then immediately plunging them into an ice water bath. Chefs in restaurant kitchens blanch vegetables in advance to shorten their cooking time during busy dinner service, but you can also serve blanched vegetables without further cooking.

Fill the pot about three-quarters full of water. Add approximately 1 teaspoon of salt for every 5 quarts of water. The salt facilitates a chemical change in the vegetables that maintains their color and keeps them from getting mushy. Bring the water to a rolling boil.

Clean and trim the vegetables while the water is coming to a boil. Cut larger vegetables into pieces of roughly equal size and shape.

Fill a large bowl with water and ice cubes, then set it near your cooking area.

Add the vegetables to the boiling water a few at a time, keeping the water at a rolling boil. Let them cook for two to three minutes. Cook starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots or squash, a little longer. Test them for doneness by removing one piece, and pinching or biting it. It should be al dente -- crisp but not crunchy -- and heated through but not mushy.

Use a slotted spoon or strainer to remove the vegetables from the boiling water and immediately put them in the ice water. If you're blanching in small batches, add ice to the water if necessary to keep it cold.

Drain the vegetables in a colander. If you're going to store them for later use, let them air dry for a few minutes before packing them into containers and covering them. For freezing, pack the drained vegetables into containers or resealable freezer bags.

Produced by: Demand Studios

[valeriesanchez]

If you want better crunch, add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar to the blanch.

[blastlightstar]

ARE YOU BLANCHIN.

[stares you dead in the eye]

[mayaahmed]

Very educational. Thank you will help me with my IB Chemistry IA. I love to Blanche.

[ShocktoSpectre]

BLANCHING GIRL WE BLANCHING 🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔊🔊🔊🔊

[ADZBOY]

''add a teaspoon of salt'' ....(pours half a bag in)

[reshamlamsal]

Thank you so much information 🙏🙏🙏 i am from nepal 🇳🇵🇳🇵🇳🇵 nepali chef 🙏🙏

[bodaciousbethany]

What's the difference between crunchy & crispy?

[mayapandu]

hello I am a culinary student in Medan, can I use this video to be published in my campus learning media? I will include a link from your YouTube. thank you

[shelbyvillerules]

Perfectly blanched, as all things should be.

[Cam_..]

Am I blanchin girl we blanchin I live up in a mansion🎶🎶😎😎

[gitanashimmy]

I want to make wonton soup that my mother can freeze and then eat when she's not well enough to cook. The recipie says to blanch the veges. After blanching, do I put them in the broth and have her freeze the whole thing or do the veges get frozen in a separate container? Also, it says "If using vegetables, blanch in the soup broth and place in serving bowl." I assume this is for not freezing it. So I'd boil it in the broth and then take out the veges for an ice back and put them back in? I'm confused.

[Ebaki]

Dont think carrot and asparagus has same cooking degree.. carrot cooks longer than asparagus...

[issaacxxx]

Are we blanchin' girl we blanchin'! I live up in a mansion!

[Spamtonontheinternet]

You fool… YOU HAVE SUMMONED THE GRAVITY FALLS FANDOM!

[cgo]

As with most of these short vids this tells only half the story (at best) - (1) different veggies blanche at different rates (2) blanche the veggies in ice-water for the same time they were cooked (3) when freezing, put the veggies in the freezer in a tray or sealed food bag, but make sure they're DRY and FLAT and SEPARATED so they don't STICK together forming a frozen clump - this makes re-heating them a lot, very lot easier than wasting valuable time breaking down a big frozen clump of frozen vegetables (which can easily take 5-10 mins) just buy frozen from your local supermarket instead adding aromatics and flavourings while cooking.

[melissanguyen]

Do you start the timer immediately when putting the vegetables in the water or do you wait for the rolling boil to come back first before starting the timer?

[cartossin]

I think you need a bigger pot with more water so the veggies cant cool down the water as much. Julia Child has a great episode on this.

[JoePina]

I like to use the water afterwards to boil eggs

[gunclassutah]

Is why blanche bell peppers before grilling?

[b_san]

Can I blanch vegetables in a boiling chicken soup?