what is blanching in food preservation

Blanching is a food preservation technique that involves scalding vegetables in boiling water or steam for a short time, followed by quick, thorough cooling in very cold or ice water. Blanching is necessary before freezing almost all vegetables to maintain their color, texture, and flavor. It stops enzyme actions that can cause loss of flavor, color, and texture, and cleanses the surface of dirt and organisms, brightens the color, and helps retard loss of vitamins. Blanching also wilts or softens vegetables and makes them easier to pack. The process has three stages: preheating, blanching, and cooling). Blanching is often used as a treatment prior to freezing, drying, or canning, heating vegetables or fruits to inactivate enzymes, modify texture, remove the peel, and wilt tissue. The inactivation of enzymes preserves color, flavor, and nutritional value). Blanching is also used to loosen the skins on fruits such as tomatoes and peaches to assist in peeling, which is required for certain recipes. Blanching is done using either a water bath or saturated steam. In both methods, the food is heated for a short period of time and then introduced into either cold water or cold air to quickly stop the heating process).