What is the purpose of blanching vegetables?

Blanching vegetables serves the important function of partially cooking them, which helps to preserve their color, texture, and nutrients. The process involves briefly boiling the vegetables and then quickly plunging them into ice water to stop the cooking process. This method not only brightens the vegetable's color, making it more visually appealing, but it also helps maintain vitamins and minerals that can be lost during prolonged cooking.

This technique is especially useful before freezing vegetables, as it slows enzymatic processes that can lead to spoilage, ensuring they retain their quality over time. While other methods of cooking, such as fully cooking them for serving or enhancing flavor with spices, have their place, they do not prioritize the preservation of nutrients and visual appeal in the same way that blanching does.