Blanch

to whiten by removing color; bleach:
Workers were blanching linen in the sun.
Cookery.

to scald briefly and then drain, as peaches or almonds to facilitate removal of skins, or as rice or macaroni to separate the grains or strands.
to scald or parboil (meat or vegetables) so as to whiten, remove the odor, prepare for cooking by other means, etc.

Horticulture. (of the stems or leaves of plants, as celery or lettuce) to whiten or prevent from becoming green by excluding light.
Metallurgy.

to give a white luster to (metals), as by means of acids.
to coat (sheet metal) with tin.

to make pale, as with sickness or fear:
The long illness had blanched her cheeks of their natural color.
to become white; turn pale:
The very thought of going made him blanch.
to force back or to one side; head off, as a deer or other quarry.
Contemporary Examples

Fresh Picks Markus Glocker July 5, 2010
Our Crazy Quest for Immortality Malcolm Jones May 13, 2011
The GOP Flees to the Cleve James Poulos July 8, 2014
Limits of a First Term Thomas Geoghegan October 23, 2008
5 Healthy Spa Meals Ratha Tep January 12, 2011

Historical Examples

French Dishes for American Tables Pierre Caron
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches Eliza Leslie
The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming. Ellen Eddy Shaw
The Cook and Housekeeper’s Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, Mary Eaton
The World Before Them Susanna Moodie

verb (mainly transitive)
(also intransitive) to remove colour from, or (of colour) to be removed; whiten; fade: the sun blanched the carpet, over the years the painting blanched
(usually intransitive) to become or cause to become pale, as with sickness or fear
to plunge tomatoes, nuts, etc, into boiling water to loosen the skin
to plunge (meat, green vegetables, etc) in boiling water or bring to the boil in water in order to whiten, preserve the natural colour, or reduce or remove a bitter or salty taste
to cause (celery, chicory, etc) to grow free of chlorophyll by the exclusion of sunlight
(metallurgy) to whiten (a metal), usually by treating it with an acid or by coating it with tin
(transitive) usually foll by over. to attempt to conceal something
v.