Blanching (cooking)

Blanching is a process in which a food, usually a vegetable or fruit, is partially cooked by first scalding in boiling water, then removing after a brief timed interval, and finally plunging into iced water or placing under cold running water to halt the cooking process. Blanching foods helps reduce quality loss over time. Blanching is often used as a treatment prior to freezing, dehydrating, or canning vegetables or fruits to deactivate enzymes, modify texture, remove the peel and wilt tissue.

The inactivation of enzymes preserves colour, flavour, and nutritional value.
The process has three stages: preheating, blanching, and cooling.
The most common blanching methods for vegetables/fruits are hot water and steam, while cooling is either done using cold water or cool air.

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Source: Wikipedia · Image: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0