Why is everyone calling a 5-minute boil a 'blanch'? I think we got the terms backwards

I was prepping green beans last night and my roommate said I should blanch them for 5 minutes. I told her that's a parboil, not a blanch since blanching is supposed to be quick like 30 seconds to a minute in boiling water then an ice bath. She got defensive and showed me three different food blogs using 'blanch' for any short boil. Now I'm second guessing myself - is the internet just wrong or did the definition actually change over time? What do you guys call it when you boil veggies for more than 2 minutes?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_kevin1mo ago

Nah you are totally correct on this one. Your roommate is citing food blogs run by people who think "sauté" means burn garlic in olive oil for ten minutes. A blanch is that quick dunk to set color and loosen skins, like for tomatoes or almonds. Anything over 90 seconds is a parboil or just straight up boiling, depending on how long you go. The internet has been real sloppy with cooking terms lately, probably because SEO writers just copy each other. So next time she calls a five minute boil a blanch, ask her if a 30 minute simmer is a "slow blanch" and watch her head spin.

caseyclark1mo ago

You ever just hand someone a potato and ask them to blanch it for five minutes and see if they catch themselves? That's what I did with my buddy who kept calling everything a "blanch," and it finally clicked for him.