a verb which for the gardener means to earth up (e.g. stalks of celery) and thus keep white, and which for the cook means to immerse briefly in boiling water.
The blanching carried out in the kitchen may whiten, as when pieces of rabbit are blanched prior to being cooked, but it more commonly serves other purposes. Fruits and nuts may be blanched to permit peeling them. If vegetables or herbs are blanched before they are frozen, this deactivates enzymes and ‘sets’ their colour. And vegetables to be cooked in the French manner are first blanched, so that their colour will be preserved (after which they are ‘refreshed’ in cold water and subsequently heated in butter). Blanching lasts for a shorter or longer time according to what is being blanched and for what purpose; but it never lasts long.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
