What does blanching mean? What is the function of blanching?

The more delicious the food, the more troublesome the steps to cook. Sometimes, cooking requires blanching, and novices don’t understand what blanching is. So what does blanching mean? What is the function of blanching?

What does blanching mean

Blanch water means heating the initially processed raw materials in a boiling water pot until half-cooked or fully cooked, and take them out for further cooking or seasoning. It is an indispensable process in cooking, especially in cold dishes. It plays a key role in the color, aroma, taste, and especially color of the dish. The application range of blanching is wide, and most vegetables and meat ingredients with fishy smell need to be blanched. Blanched water, also known as water, flying water, and humiliated water. The Northeast region is called "Qian", the Henan area is called "Shan", and Sichuan is called "Shu". ,.

What is the function of blanching?

It can make the vegetables more colorful and have a crisper texture, reduce astringent, bitter and spicy taste, and can also sterilize and disinfect. For example, spinach, celery, and rapeseed become more green by blanching. Blanch bitter melon, radish, etc. can reduce the bitter taste. The hemoglobin contained in lentils can be removed by blanching.

2. It can remove blood stains and fishy smells such as meat raw materials. For example, beef, sheep, pork and their internal organs can reduce the smell after blanching.

3. The maturity time of several different raw materials can be adjusted to shorten the formal cooking time. Due to the different properties of raw materials, the heating time is also different. Several different raw materials can be ripened and consistently. If the meat slices and vegetables are fried together and the vegetables are half-cooked after blanching, then after stir-frying the meat slices, add the blanched vegetables and it will be ready to be served soon. If it is cooked together without blanching, it will cause different raw materials, soft and hard.

4. It facilitates further processing of raw materials. Some raw materials are easy to peel after blanching, while some raw materials are easy to process and cut after blanching.

Methods for blanching

a. Methods for blanching meat and fish

1. Blanch the chopped meat (ribs, large pieces of meat, chicken, etc.) in boiling water to remove blood foam from the meat ingredients.

2. The meat ingredients can be blanched in boiling water and changed color. After taking them out and draining the water, you can cook the next step.

b. Method of blanching vegetables:

1. When washing vegetables, sprinkle some salt in clean water to clean the insects in the vegetables. Before stir-frying, you can blanch the vegetables in boiling water and pick them up quickly, so that the vegetables look brighter in color.

2. The blanched vegetables should be immediately immersed in cold water to maintain color and taste. If you don't soak it in cold water, the vegetables will no longer be crispy because of the residual heat of boiling water, and will feel rotten.

※Remember, when blanching, no matter what material is, put the raw materials in boiling water. Do not cover the pot lid. When you see that the raw materials have achieved the effect, fish it out immediately.