blanch
/blɑːn(t)ʃ
/verb [with object]
1Make white or pale by extracting colour: the cold light blanched her face...
- The wind blew, chilling their coffee and blanching their faces.
- The glare of the flash blanches some faces, while others are obscured by the frame's edges.
- The grey of the last forty eight hours had blanched it silver.
Synonyms
make/turn pale, whiten, make/turn pallid, lighten, grey, wash out, fade, blench, etiolate, decolorize, bleach, peroxide
pale, go/grow/turn/become pale, go/grow/turn/become white, whiten, go/grow/turn/become pallid, lose its colour, lighten, bleach, fade, blench
1.1Whiten (a plant) by depriving it of light: blanch endive by covering plants with large flowerpots...
- Planting leeks deep in the soil blanches them, shielding the shanks from the sun and keeping them white, tender, and sweet.
- When seedlings are 10 to 12 inches tall, hill up the soil around the plant bases to blanch the stems.
- The traditional way to blanch asparagus is to mound mulch or sand around the spears as they emerge.
2 [no object] Flinch or grow pale from shock, fear, or a similar emotion: he visibly blanched at this reminder of mortality...
- The five remaining men blanched and trembled with fear as they were faced with something beyond their reckoning.
- I saw Mike's parents look at me oddly; his mother seemed to be blanching with fear of what I was going to say.
- Some of the proposals range from 20 to 30 percent and people blanch at the thought of paying that much.
3Prepare (vegetables) for freezing or further cooking by immersing briefly in boiling water: blanch corn in boiling water for one minute...
- In a separate pot of salted, boiling water, blanch the fava beans, then immediately drain and shock them in an ice bath.
- The colouring is important and he suggests that the mushrooms are first briefly blanched in boiling water, so they are moist without the need for prolonged cooking.
- Prepare the tomatoes for the sauce by blanching them in boiling water for 20 seconds.
3.1 (often as adjective blanched) Peel (almonds) by scalding them: blanched almonds...
- A small handful of soaked and blanched almonds or walnuts makes a nutritious mid-morning or afternoon snack.
- Before baking, the top is covered with whole blanched almonds.
- Because I didn't blanch the almonds or pistachios, the cake itself looked a bit dull and not as green as you might fancy.
Synonyms
scald, boil, dunk
Origin
Middle English: from Old French blanchir, from blanc 'white', ultimately of Germanic origin.