Parcook / Parbake

Parcooking (also written par-cook) is the deliberate interruption of cooking at a stage before full doneness — typically 50–80% complete — so that the ingredient can be finished quickly to order, transported, or processed further. In professional kitchens it is a fundamental mise en place strategy: chicken thighs may be parcoooked sous vide at 155 °F then seared to order in minutes; potatoes are parboiled before roasting to create a craggy, steam-burst exterior; pizza dough is parbaked to a pale 'white' crust, cooled, then topped and finished at service. The technique separates the slow, capacity-intensive phase of cooking from the rapid, heat-intensive finish. Parboiling — the wet-heat variant — also leaches bitterness or excess starch: bitter melon is parboiled before stir-frying, and rice is parboiled during production of converted rice to gelatinize starches before milling. In industrial baking, par-baked bread loaves are sold unfinished and completed by the retailer, extending shelf life while preserving crust quality.

“We parcook the chicken quarters in seasoned stock for 25 minutes, then refrigerate them overnight — at service, three minutes over high heat on the grill brings them to a lacquered, crispy finish without any raw-center risk.”

• TechniqueBlanching
• TechniqueSous Vide
• ConceptMise en Place

1. 1.On Food and Cooking — Harold McGee
2. 2.The Professional Chef, 9th ed. — The Culinary Institute of America
3. 3.Modernist Cuisine at Home — Nathan Myhrvold & Maxime Bilet

Confidence: high