parboil
parboil Lexical Profile
parboil Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To boil food, such as vegetables, rice, or meat, only partially as a preliminary step before finishing the cooking by another method.
"The recipe instructs you to parboil the potatoes for ten minutes before roasting them in the oven with rosemary and olive oil."
To make or become uncomfortably overheated.
"Waiters in heavy formal jackets nearly parboiled under the midday sun on the outdoor terrace."
Word Nuance & Usage
Although both involve brief cooking in boiling water, 'parboil' means to partially cook food so it can be finished by another method, whereas 'blanch' typically involves plunging food into boiling water very briefly and then immediately into ice water to preserve color, texture, or loosen skins.
• Rhymes for parboil
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Old French 'parboillir', from Late Latin 'perbullire' meaning 'to boil thoroughly' (from 'per-' meaning 'thoroughly' and 'bullire' meaning 'to boil'); in Middle English, the prefix was mistakenly associated with 'part', shifting the meaning to 'boil partially'.