For the term used in coinage, see Blanching (coinage).

Blanching is a cooking term that describes a process of food preparation wherein the food substance is rapidly plunged into boiling water and then removed after a brief, timed interval and then plunged into iced water or placed under cold running water. Blanching rapidly heats and then cools the food. This allows the food, usually fruits and vegetables, to firm up and makes the food's natural flavour more pronounced, and is often a preparative technique for freezing food.

Blanching is also an effective method of loosening the skin on fruits or nuts that one may wish to peel, such as onions, tomatoes, plums, peaches, or almonds, and is sometimes used as part of the process of reconstituting dried or cured ingredients to remove excess salt or seasoning.

In addition, blanching enhances the color of some (particularly green) ingredients.

Steam blanching is also used to neutralise bacteria and enzymes present in foods so that they may be processed and gain a greater shelf life, such as peanuts.

Blanching can also describe deep frying in oil at a lower temperature as with the initial cooking of French fries/chips.

Cooking techniques | Бланшыраванне | Blanchieren | Blanšeerimine | בישול לבן | Blancheren