Processing & Preservation
Blanching
A short heat treatment, usually 70–100 °C, applied before freezing, drying or canning, primarily to inactivate enzymes.
The quick dip in boiling water before freezing vegetables like peas and beans, so they don't turn mushy or lose colour in the freezer.
Related terms
Enzymatic browning
Food ChemistryBrowning catalysed by polyphenol oxidase, which oxidises phenolic compounds to quinones that polymerise into brown melanins. It requires oxygen, the enzyme, and a phenolic substrate.
Peroxidase test
Quality & SensoryA test for lactoperoxidase, used to confirm that milk has not been over-heated.
Polyphenol oxidase
Food ChemistryA copper-containing enzyme responsible for enzymatic browning in cut fruit and vegetables. Optimum pH is around 6–7 and it is largely inactivated above about 80 °C.
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