Blanching and shocking

These are culinary terms that refer, respectively, to cooking an ingredient (usually a vegetable) in an ample amount of heavily salted boiling water for a couple of minutes, and then transferring it—to stop the cooking process—to an ice water bath (this is best achieved with a wire strainer, or a large perforated scoop). The blanching yields a bright green color in vegetables; the shocking in ice water locks it in. The boiling water should be as salty as seawater—a quick taste test before adding your ingredient is advised.