Parboil is an action which refers to partially boiling food in water before finishing cooking it by another method. When something has been parboiled it has been partially cooked; that is, subjected to boiling for a brief period of time. To be parboiled can also mean to be subjected to uncomfortable heat.

The etymology of the word includes influences from the Middle English parboilen meaning to boil partly and the

Old French parboillir; to boil thoroughly. These words in turn stem from Late Latin. The modern meaning of the word is caused by confusion of par- with part.

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 for removing gyromitrin from false morels.

As a unit operation in chemical engineering, parboiling is the same as extraction or leaching.

Parboiled rice

Here raw rice or paddy is dehusked by using steam. This steam also partially boils the rice while dehusking.This process generally changes colour of rice from white to bit reddish.This type of rice is eaten in districts of Dakshina kannada and Udupi in India.