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Blanch, To

To blanch meat or vegetables is to plunge them into boiling water for a given length of time, generally two or three minutes; then throw them into a bowl of spring water and leave them until cold. With meat this is done for the purpose of giving firmness to the flesh, and thus facilitating the operation of larding, and also to preserve the whiteness of certain meats, such as rabbits or fowls. With vegetables it is done to keep them green, and to take away their acrid flavour. Ox tongues, palates, and almonds, fruit kernels, etc., are said to be blanched when through the action of hot water the skin can be easily peeled off; calves' heads and feet are blanched to soften them, and thus make them easier to trim and prepare for cooking, and for this the cold water is not required.