Blanching and Parboiling Vegetables

Vegetables are often blanched in boiling water before further cooking. Some, like cabbage, are blanched to remove a strong flavor; vegetables with a sharp taste such as onion, or with bitter juices, such as eggplant, also benefit. Blanching softens root vegetables, prevents pale vegetables such as Jerusalem artichokes from discoloring, sets the color of greens and loosens the skin of vegetables like tomatoes to facilitate peeling. The method depends on how the vegetable is cooked; green vegetables and tomatoes are blanched in boiling water, while roots are started in cold water and the blanching time counted from the moment the water comes to a boil. Different vegetables should be blanched separately, though similar types used in the same dish can be blanched together.