Home

How to Blanch & Shock Vegetables

Cooking pots and pans on a stove with green vegetables in the background.

Chef Stephen Gibbs shows you a good cooking technique: blanching and shocking vegetables. Blanching is letting vegetables in hot, boiling water for a short period of time. Shocking is putting hot vegetables in ice cold water. These methods are used together in order to precook certain vegetables or even take the skin off.

The chef demonstrates with tomatoes and beans. He cuts an X at the bottom of the tomato and keeps it for about 10 seconds in a pot with boiling water. He then moves it quickly to a pot with cold water. The skin then comes off nicely. The green beans are blanched and shocked in exactly the same way. They end up being three-quarters cooked and have a nice color.

You already know how to use your phone. With Gadget Hacks' newsletter, we'll show you how to master it. Each week, we explore features, hidden tools, and advanced settings that give you more control over iOS and Android than most users even know exists.