Parboiling

Parboiling, sometimes called leaching, partially boils food as a first step before finishing it with another cooking method, adding the food to boiling water and removing it once it begins to soften rather than cooking it through; the term comes from Old French and was later reinterpreted through a mistaken association with the English word part. It is used to draw out unpleasant or poisonous substances from certain foods, to soften vegetables before roasting, and most commonly to precook rice, a technique especially associated with Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and West Bengal in India and with West African and Afro-Caribbean rice cooking. Parboiling differs from blanching in that the food is not cooled in cold water or ice after it comes out of the boiling water.