Parboiling (or leaching) is the partial or semi boiling of food as the first step in cooking. The word is from the Old French parbouillir, 'to boil thoroughly' but by mistaken association with "part", it has acquired this definition.
The word is often used when referring to parboiled rice. Parboiling can also be used for removing poisonous or foul-tasting substances from foods, and to soften vegetables before roasting them.
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete fungus of the genus Amanita. Its common name derives from its traditional use as an insecticide. It is a distinctive, large white-gilled mushroom typically featuring a bright red cap covered with white warts. The complex genetic diversity of A. muscaria suggests that it is a species complex. It is a widely distributed mushroom native to temperate and boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere, now also naturalised in the Southern Hemisphere, forming symbiotic relationships with various trees and spreading invasively in some regions.
Ingestion of the mushroom can cause poisoning, especially in children and those seeking its hallucinogenic effects, due to psychoactive compounds like muscimol and the ibotenic acid; however, fatal poisonings are extremely rare. Parboiling reduces toxicity, though drying converts ibotenic acid into muscimol, retaining psychoactive effects. Some cultures use it as food after preparation. Indigenous peoples of Siberia used A. muscaria as an inebriant and entheogen. It has been controversially linked to Santa Claus, Viking berserkers, Vedic soma, and early Christianity, though evidence is sparse and disputed. Its rise in the 2020s as a legal hallucinogen alternative has led to Food and Drug Administration scrutiny.
Parboiled rice, also called converted rice, easy-cook rice, sella rice, and miniket (as predominantly called in West Bengal and Odisha in India, and in Bangladesh) is rice that has been partially boiled in the husk. The three basic steps of parboiling are soaking, steaming and drying. These steps make the rice easier to process by hand, while also boosting its nutritional profile, changing its texture, and making it more resistant to weevils. The treatment is practiced in many parts of the world.
Parboiling drives nutrients, especially thiamine, from the bran to the endosperm, hence parboiled white rice is mostly nutritionally similar to brown rice. Given the pale tan color that results from these bran components, parboiled rice is sometimes called saffron sella.
Baked beans is a dish traditionally containing white common beans that are parboiled and then baked in sauce at low temperature for a lengthy period. Canned baked beans are not baked, but are cooked through a steam process.
Canned baked beans are commonly made using navy beans (known as haricot beans in the UK), which originated in Peru. In New England, various indigenous legumes are also used, such as Jacob's cattle, soldier beans and yellow-eyed beans.