Blanching in the kitchen: tender leaves without mush
One minute in boiling water, straight into ice water, squeeze: blanching gives tender leaves without mush, and it is also the most effective single move against oxalic acid.
Blanching is the technique most of the other techniques rest on. Pies, gratins, dolma, and börek all begin with a blanched, firmly squeezed leaf, and freezing without blanching ends in brown, bitter leaves.
This is the kitchen side of the story: times, the ice bath, and squeezing. The freezing itself, with portioning and shelf life, lives in the storage guide and isn't repeated here.
Step by step
- 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil
At least three litres per bunch. Too little water loses the boil the moment the leaves go in, and then you are boiling the vegetables instead of blanching them.
- 2
Get the ice water ready first
A large bowl of cold water with ice cubes, standing next to the stove before anything else happens. Seconds count when the leaves come out.
- 3
Stems first: 2–3 minutes
Diagonal slices or whole batons, until pliable but still with bite. They shouldn't turn tender; that happens in whatever dish they end up in later.
- 4
Leaves: one minute
Push them under with a spoon and watch the clock. Whole leaves destined for dolma rolling need only 30 seconds.
- 5
Straight into the ice water
It stops the cooking instantly and locks in the green. Leave everything until completely cold, about a minute.
- 6
Squeeze, then squeeze again
Press the leaves into a firm ball between your hands, then squeeze once more in a clean tea towel. The water you get out now is the water that would otherwise have ruined the pie, the gratin, or the freezer puck.
Pro tips
- Blanch in batches rather than all at once; the water keeps its boil and the leaves keep their colour.
- Salt the water like pasta water; it seasons the leaves from within.
- Blanching is also the oxalic acid move: a large share of the soluble oxalate draws out into the cooking water. If oxalate is a concern for you, pour the water away instead of using it as stock.
- If the blanching is headed for the freezer, the same times apply: portioning and shelf life are in the storage guide.
Troubleshooting
- The leaves turned grey instead of green.
- Either they sat in the water too long, or the ice bath was missing. Stick to one minute, and always blanch without a lid: a lid traps the plant acids that would otherwise steam off, and they dull the colour.
- Everything turned to mush.
- The leaves got the stem time. The two parts go into the water in separate batches: stems 2–3 minutes, leaves one. Blanch everything together and the leaves are overcooked before the stems are anywhere near done.
- The pie still came out watery.
- The squeezing was too gentle. Properly squeezed silverbeet feels like a hard-wrung cloth, and the numbers give you away: a 500-gram bunch should end at 150–200 grams after squeezing. If it weighs more, squeeze again.