Definition Of Blanch In Cooking

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British

verb (used with object)

to whiten by removing color; bleach: Workers were blanching linen in the sun.

Cooking.

to scald briefly and then drain, as peaches or almonds to facilitate removal of skins, or as rice or macaroni to separate the grains or strands.
to scald or parboil (meat or vegetables) so as to whiten, remove the odor, prepare for cooking by other means, etc.

Horticulture. (of the stems or leaves of plants, as celery or lettuce) to whiten or prevent from becoming green by excluding light.

Metallurgy.

to give a white luster to (metals), as by means of acids.
to coat (sheet metal) with tin.

to make pale, as with sickness or fear: The long illness had blanched her cheeks of their natural color.

verb (used without object)

to become white; turn pale: The very thought of going made him blanch.

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Origin of blanch

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English bla(u)nchen, from Anglo-French, Middle French blanchir "to whiten," derivative of blanc, blanche "white"; see blank

synonym study for blanch

OTHER WORDS FROM blanch

blancher, noun

Words nearby blanch

blameworthy, blanc, Blanca Peak, blanc de blancs, blanc fixe, blanch, Blanche, Blanche of Castile, Blanchett, blancmange, Blanco

Other definitions for blanch (2 of 2)

blanch ²

[ blanch, blahnch ]

/ blæntʃ, blɑntʃ /

verb (used with object)

to force back or to one side; head off, as a deer or other quarry.

Origin of blanch

First recorded in 1565–75; variant of blench¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use blanch in a sentence

The crop, which can be eaten raw, blanched and cooked like pasta, dried and powdered, or even flash-frozen, has many applications, from salads to umami-amplifying butter.
You'd also probably roast a pumpkin or blanch peas, but they're both actually fruits.
I love eating whole snap peas raw as part of a full crudite platter or simply paired with hummus so I can appreciate their crunch in all its glory, but they are delicious blanched or quickly sauteed, too.
A one-pan salmon dinner with minty peas, orange and fennelWhen you get home, blanch and chill the peas, then toss them with sliced radishes in a simple lemon and olive oil dressing.

There, blood sits at the bottom of a bowl beneath blanched vegetables, blanched noodles and paper-thin slices of raw beef, all topped with sweltering broth.
Most Republicans blanch instinctively at the political rhetoric of "the new Cleveland."
True, many Brazilians—and not a few of his fellow city councilors—blanch at Apolinário's fevered views.
His more polemical books, such as Black Mass and Straw Dogs, often posit a worldview bleak enough to make Beckett blanch.
Blanch squash for about one minute, drain and cool with cold water.
Blanch the spinach and parsley in boiling salted water until completely tender and then cool in ice water.
A cry, which heard, even at noon day, seldom fails to blanch the manliest cheek.
Strong in lowliness, they neither blanch in heat nor pine in frost.
"Yep, he air dead," fell from Tessibel; for she had seen the large, glazed eyes draw in at the corners and the little face blanch.
And then his steady successes were offset by a disaster that caused even his face to blanch.
Pare fruit if desired or blanch or scald in boiling water a small quantity of fruit at a time.

British Dictionary definitions for blanch

verb (mainly tr)

(also intr) to remove colour from, or (of colour) to be removed; whiten; fade the sun blanched the carpet; over the years the painting blanched

(usually intr) to become or cause to become pale, as with sickness or fear

to plunge tomatoes, nuts, etc, into boiling water to loosen the skin

to plunge (meat, green vegetables, etc) in boiling water or bring to the boil in water in order to whiten, preserve the natural colour, or reduce or remove a bitter or salty taste

to cause (celery, chicory, etc) to grow free of chlorophyll by the exclusion of sunlight

metallurgy to whiten (a metal), usually by treating it with an acid or by coating it with tin

(tr, usually foll by over) to attempt to conceal something

Word Origin for blanch

C14: from Old French blanchir from blanc white; see blank

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012