blanching

Verb

blanch (third-person singular simple present blanches, present participle blanching, simple past and past participle blanched)

1. (intransitive) To grow or become white.
   • His cheek blanched with fear.
2. (transitive) To take the color out of, and make white; to bleach.
   • to blanch linen
3. (transitive) To cook by dipping briefly into boiling water, then directly into cold water.
4. (transitive) To whiten, for example the surface of meat, by plunging into boiling water and afterwards into cold, so as to harden the surface and retain the juices.
5. (transitive) To bleach by excluding light, for example the stalks or leaves of plants by earthing them up or tying them together.
6. (transitive) To make white by removing the skin of, for example by scalding.
   • to blanch almonds

See all 13 meanings of blanch