blanched

American  

[blancht] / blæntʃt /

adjective

1. made white; whitened or bleached.

   The threads used for the lace were once made of hemp, but are now of raw or blanched linen.

   The museum’s blanched interior is penetrated at the core by a large black staircase linking the lobby to the main gallery.

2. Cooking. scalded or parboiled briefly and then drained, as to facilitate removal of skins, get rid of odor or bitterness, shorten cooking by other means, etc..

   I use blanched almonds, as they already have the papery, slightly bitter skins removed.

   Stir in the blanched cauliflower and frozen peas and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes longer.

3. made pale, as by sickness or fear.

   His trembling hands and the look on his blanched face suggested he’d been hurt or badly scared.

4. Horticulture. (of the stems or leaves of plants, as celery or leeks) whitened or prevented from becoming green by excluding light.

   Dense sowing and immature harvesting yield tall seedlings with tender, blanched stems and bright, well-developed leaves.

5. Metallurgy.

   1. (of metals) given a white luster, as by means of acids.

      Platinum has an appearance similar to blanched gold.

   2. (of sheet metal) coated with tin.

      Scowling, he watched the fly as it sat brazenly on the rim of his blanched metal camp mug.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of blanch.

Other Word Forms

• unblanched adjective

Etymology

Origin of blanched

First recorded in 1375–1425; blanch ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; blanch ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

To prepare the samples, potatoes were rinsed, peeled, cut into strips, blanched, and salted.

From Science Daily • Apr. 2, 2026

Actress Emily Blunt took one look at Tilly and blanched.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 6, 2025

At first, Hallow didn't seem so bad, even though I blanched when it immediately gamified the spiritual experience by congratulating me for maintaining my "streak" of daily usage.

From Salon • Apr. 18, 2025

To Carter’s displeasure, even they blanched at his desire to do it in less than 90 days.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 21, 2024

Our gruesome repast was completed in two or three minutes; at which point, Bono asked, in a voice abruptly blanched, “Where’s Clippinger?”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson