What is the purpose of blanching vegetables?

Blanching vegetables serves the important purpose of setting the color, preserving nutrients, and inactivating spoilage enzymes. This process involves briefly boiling the vegetables and then rapidly cooling them in icy water. The heat from boiling helps to retain the vibrant color of the vegetables, making them more visually appealing. Additionally, blanching helps to preserve some nutrients that might be lost during longer cooking processes, and it effectively inactivates enzymes that can cause spoilage, allowing for better preservation of vegetables during storage or freezing. This method is particularly valuable in food preparation and preservation because it prepares vegetables for freezing while maintaining their quality.