Blanching Greens Before Sauteing

[Blondelle]

I usually make brocolli rabe by just sauteing some oil and garlic, adding the brocolli, a bit of red paper flakes and a bit of water and steaming till soft. I've seen some recipes that say to blanche the greens for for about 2 minutes first. The color stays bright green without it unless I overcook it, and then it goes a bit grey but still good. What would this do, and why do it?

[TongoRad]

With broccoli rabe, in particular, blanching mellows out the flavor somewhat. But I kinda like that intensity myself. When it's just for me and my wife I don't blanch it, but I do when we have guests. Not blanching can also be a bit of a crapshoot because sometimes that characteristic that I've heard described as an 'iodine sting' can be a bit much, even for me. Then again I've also had it where a lot of the character has been blanched out of it, so I choose to live dangerously

[redfox]

One reason for blanching (and thoroughly draining) greens before you saute them is that it gives you a chance to express all the liquids that will come out of the greens beforehand, so that they really do saute in the oil, instead of stewing in their own liquid. Then the oil and aromatics coat the greens instead of beading up and the flavors meld more thoroughly.

[Busboy]

Proper blanching will turn your haricots the most extraordinary shade of emerald, not just preserving their original color but perfecting it.

Salt the water until, as Thomas reveals unto us, it tastes like seawater. Blanch small batches in large pots; the water should return almost immediately to a boil. The ice water bath is indispensable.

[chefdg]

Blanching is all about the color, unless you are blanching and shocking to cook later. You loss a lot of nutrients with the blanching liquid, and some of the flavor. Sauteeing only is harder to do w/o overcooking, or cooking unevenly, but it yeilds better flavor.

[chef koo]

yes color is a plus but when sauteeing in a pan the heat is direct and goes from the surface that's touching the pan to the centre of the vegetable. blanching cooks more evenly since water can reach every little spot in the vegetable. also it makes for quicker cooking time since the heat is completely surrounding the vegetable... and it makes it a brighter green

[chefzadi]

Big pot blanching is a very common French cooking technique, especially in commercial kitchens for the the reasons mentioend above, brighter color and more tender finished product. Green beans benefit the most from this, you can actually see a rather dullish looking one transform into a brilliant green right before your eyes.

Basic technique, lots of waters, lots of salt, bring to a boil, add vegetables (one type at a time, the cuts should be more or less uniform in size) cook untill just tender, drain, shock in ice cold water untill cool, drain, saute immediately or reserve for later use. The fact that the vegetables can be reserved for sauteeing later makes it an ideal restaurant technique and at home for "make in advance" dishes.

[Ben Hong]

Blanching is also indispensible in a commercial Chinese kitchen. It's all about control, appearance and speed of production. I don't think that a quick dip in boiling water would be significantly deleterious to the nutritional components of the veggie. Unless, of course, you boil the crap out of it, a l'Anglaise .

The Chinese also use an oil blanch for meats and seafoods. That process acts as a quick seal.

Edited February 4, 2005 by Ben Hong (log)

[ChefDanBrown]

My understanding is that blanching also stops enzymatic action on the exterior of asparagus, helping to preserve it, and making it easier to digest. If you're going to overcook your vegetables, then it's not important if you blanch them or not, because you're a bad cook. If you're going to respect the vegetable you're using, blanching is an excellent way to focus on vibrant green colors. It's vital to use enough water to return to a quick boil, as well as repeated dunking into an ice-bath to chill quickly, followed by very thourogh draining and/or drying. I also tend to arrange my blanched vegetables for service into pans so that they are easy to use as garnishes during plating. It's easy to see the difference when someone really takes the time to prepare vegetables correctly, and you never know who's looking.

Edited February 4, 2005 by ChefDanBrown (log)

[chefzadi]

Carrots also benefit greatly from big pot blanching. Even the really big, old ones. Turned or julienned. I actually prefer the flavor of bigger carrots cooked this way to the "baby" ones.

[therese]

I like the bright green that blanching gives greens and beans and so forth, and of course it cuts down on final prep time later on, but it's also a way for me to keep from wasting produce. I do most of my produce shopping once or twice a week, and if I go ahead and blanche things the day I buy them I can then keep them in the fridge until I need them without worrying that they'll go bad. Nothing so disappointing as finding a droopy bag of decomposed chard at the bottom of the fridge.

[Ben Hong]

I would never blanch leafy greens, only "hard" veggies like carrots, green and wax beans, zucchini, celery, peppers, etc.

[ChefSwartz]

call me old fashioned... but i like panroasted veg. all of it. especially the bitter kinds, broccoli, rapini, califlower, brusellsprts. An old chef called it "melting". You soften the veg with butter, the veg will absorb the butter as it is cooking so you gradually add more until your sauteeing(low oil+high heat). But keep the oil moderately hot and drop the veg in the pan in the oven until its tender. I cannot stand a half cooked "blanched" green bean on my plate,no matter how cool it looks. if you want brillant color make a nice sauce or a chlorophyll oil. i guess its about personal preference but i dont "eat with my eyes" ,eat with my mouth.

[whatsup1]

Blanching bitter greens before sauteeing makes them less bitter. If you like the bitter flavor, don't blanch. If you are introducing broccoli rabe to someone who has never had it, or doesn't like so much bitterness, or isn't used to bitter greens, try blanching it first.

Edited February 10, 2005 by whatsup1 (log)

[Hiroyuki]

Has anyone tried this method of removing bitterness (oxalic acid) from spinach?

Coarsely cut spinach and soak in water for ten minutes.

According to a TV show in Japan, this removes bitterness sufficiently.

I have never tried this method. Will it work? Is it a bad method?