Parboiling Information

Parboiling (or leaching) is the partial boiling of food as the first step in the cooking process.

The word is often used when referring to parboiled rice. Parboiling can also be used for removing poisonous or foul-tasting substances from foodstuffs, such as removing gyromitrin from false morels. The technique may also be used to soften vegetables before roasting them.

Basic technique

Add the food items to boiling water and cook them until they start to soften, then remove them before they are fully cooked. Parboiling is usually used to precook an item which will then be cooked another way such as braising, grilling or stir-frying. Parboiling differs from blanching in that one does not cool the items using cold water or ice after removing them from the boiling water.

Parboiled rice

Sometimes raw rice or paddy is dehusked by using steam. This steam also partially boils the rice while dehusking. This process generally changes the colour of rice from white to a bit reddish. This type of rice is eaten in districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi of Karnataka state, in the state of Kerala, and in most parts of Tamil Nadu in India. West Africa and the Caribbean African diaspora are also accustomed to parboiling rice.

See also

• Blanching (cooking)
• Parbaking

External links

• The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
• Kitchen Dictionary at Recipe*zaar

Categories: Cooking techniques |

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