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Meaning & use

parboil

verb·Academic

Last updated

UK/ˈpɑːbɔɪl/
US/ˈpɑɹˌbɔɪl/

Meaning

  1. verbtransitive

    To boil food for a short time so that it is only partly cooked, before finishing it another way.

    Grammar: Takes an object: parboil the potatoes.

    Patterns

    • parboil something
    • parboil something for five minutes

    Parboil the potatoes for ten minutes before roasting them.

    She parboiled the ribs to make them tender before grilling.

    I parboiled the carrots so they would finish quickly in the pan.

Word forms

third person singularparboils
past tenseparboiled
past participleparboiled
-ing formparboiling

Common combinations

parboil potatoes
Parboil potatoes before roasting to get a crispy crust.
parboil briefly
Parboil the beans briefly, then plunge them in cold water.
parboil rice
Some factories parboil rice before milling it.
parboil for minutes
Parboil the sausages for five minutes.
parboiled vegetables
Add the parboiled vegetables to the stir-fry.

Synonyms and how they differ

blanch
Blanch usually means dipping food in boiling water briefly then cooling it quickly, mostly to keep color or loosen skins, while parboil is for partly cooking before another method.
precook
Precook is broader and need not involve boiling.

Word family

parboiled adjective
partly cooked by boiling
boil verb
to heat a liquid until it bubbles
boiled adjective
cooked in boiling water

Commonly confused: parboil or blanch?

parboil vs blanch

Blanching includes a quick cooling in cold water, while parboiling lets the food go on to be cooked in another way.

Practice

Before roasting, ______ the potatoes for ten minutes so the outsides become fluffy.

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