As every veteran nurseryman knows , not all vegetable taste well ( or are even eatable ! ) when allowed to grow the room they require to . For representative , bolting ( unrestrained flowering ) ruins the taste of many green leafy plants , while rhubarb leaves are poisonous at the proficient of times — and even the stalks are downright unpalatable without an infusion of massive amounts of lucre .
Blanching and Forcing Plants
Some garden plants can be made to taste better through processes called blanching and forcing . Both of which regard growing plant either with insufficient light or entirely in the dark .
Blanching
Apium graveolens dulce and curly endive , for example , becomes more tender and sweeter - tasting if most of the plant is grown in shadow for a period of 10 day or so . This process is called blanching , and outcome in leaves and stalks that are pale , white-livered , and especially tenderize .
The easy room to blanch celery is to enwrap the bottom of the plant with newspaper or a paper bag . Here ’s a YouTube video below that will take you through the exact steps to blanch celery .
Forcing
force generally takes position in complete darkness . Plants like seakale , Belgian endive , and especially rhubarb are all traditional campaigner for force . Growing the plant this path produces specially tippy shoot and stalking with much good flavor than uncoerced specimens . Rhubarb is also a majuscule vegetable to force indoors .
Here ’s a great video on how to force rhubarb .
Both forcing and blanching can be done outdoors just by place lightproof containers over the plants . If this is done in the winter , line them with chaff or some other constituent textile to insulate them and keep them quick . To pale celery , lead the tops of the plants exposed to light .
Want to learn more about blanching and forcing vegetables for better flavor?
See these resources : acquire Your Own Rhubarbfrom Oregon State University Extension . There ’s a subdivision in this PDF on force Rhubarb Indoors . Growing Guide : Celeryfrom Cornell University . This guidebook covers when to blanch celery .
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