blanch

\ ˈblanch

blanched; blanching; blanches

Definition of blanch

: to take the color out of Age had blanched his hair. : such as

a cooking : to scald or parboil in water or steam in order to remove the skin from, whiten, or stop enzymatic action in (such as food for freezing) blanch the asparagus in salted boiling water

b : to bleach by excluding light blanch the leaves of a plant

c : to make ashen or pale fear blanches the cheek

intransitive verb

: to become white or pale (as from shock or fear) His face blanched with horror. —often used figuratively to describe a reaction of shock or dismay that makes someone unwilling or reluctant to proceedCivilians also saw benefits to the system but blanched when talk then included references to $300-plus user fees.— Dan Fales… the managers of the companies blanched at the expenditures necessary to retool factories.— Charles C. Mann

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Examples of blanch in a Sentence

Blanch the potatoes before slicing them. a cup of blanched almonds She blanched and remained silent when the store owner accused her of taking the money.

Recent Examples on the Web But on the state line, politically active citizens blanch when caucuses are days away and attention, for once, is focused on the middle of the country — but not their slice of the middle of the country. — Dionne Searcey, New York Times, "The Haves of Iowa and the Have-Nots Across the Border," 25 Jan. 2020 An overabundance of broccoli, likewise, can be broken up, blanched and frozen, then later made into a pesto of sorts with lemon juice, garlic, good oil, and some sort of seeds. — Bill St. John, The Denver Post, "Try a “bubble and squeak” for Thanksgiving leftovers. Seriously.," 26 Nov. 2019 In fact, Eierman says the chef at COPIA has a simple way of letting the flavor of broccoli shine: The florets are blanched and then shocked in an ice bath, then quickly stir-fried in olive oil. — Kris Wetherbee, Good Housekeeping, "6 Things You Need To Know Before You Plant Broccoli This Fall," 22 Aug. 2016 When the water is boiling, blanch the mint for about 30 seconds. — Jonathan Miles, Field & Stream, "Two Ways to Cook a Roasted Leg of Venison," 13 Jan. 2020 For blanching, 3 minutes in salted, boiling water is a solid starting point for most greens; adjust time depending on the stem’s thickness. — Lizzie Noonan, Bon Appétit, "How to Make Even the Most Stubborn Winter Vegetables Taste Like Luxury," 16 Dec. 2019 Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose hair has perhaps gone even whiter over the past two months, would blanch at the thought. — Jeff Mcdonald, ExpressNews.com, "San Antonio Spurs close 2019 with another nail-biter, top Golden State Warriors," 31 Dec. 2019 Or, try this quick dessert recipe: Ground Cherry-Pineapple Crumble Serves 4 3 cups halved ground cherries 3 cups fresh pineapple chunks ½ cup sugar ½ cup blanched almonds ¼ cup unsalted butter ¼ cup flour ½ cup brown sugar 1. — The Editors, Good Housekeeping, "How to Grow Hundreds of Ground Cherries," 31 July 2018 Many in the city blanched in 2017 when the SFPUC began adding groundwater into the supply flowing from Hetch Hetchy. — Dominic Fracassa, SFChronicle.com, "From toilets to taps: SF tests new water recycling program," 20 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'blanch.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.