What is the purpose of blanching vegetables?

Blanching vegetables serves specifically to soften them prior to freezing. This process involves briefly boiling the vegetables and then plunging them into ice water. The primary goal is to partially cook the vegetables, which helps to preserve their color, texture, and nutritional value during freezing. By doing this, it also stops enzymatic processes that can lead to loss of flavor, color, and nutrients over time when stored in the freezer.

While there are techniques for cooking vegetables thoroughly and enhancing their flavor through other methods, blanching is not primarily focused on either of those goals. It does not aim to remove nutrients; instead, it helps to maintain them during the freezing process, making option B the most accurate choice regarding the purpose of blanching.