Parcooking is defined as which of the following?

• A. Partially cooking a food by any cooking method (and then finishing it before service)
• B. Cooking a food to its final internal temperature and serving immediately
• C. Rapidly chilling a food to below 10 C
• D. Cooking food until it is destroyed by microbes

Answer: (A)

Parcooking means partially cooking a food by any cooking method and then finishing it before service. This technique is used to reduce total on-site cooking time and to control texture and safety by bringing the item to an intermediate, safe stage first, and completing the final cooking later, typically when it’s closer to service. After parcooking, it’s important to handle the food properly—cool it promptly and store it correctly so bacteria don’t have a chance to grow before the final reheating to the required final temperature.

The choice describing cooking to the final internal temperature and serving immediately isn’t parcooking because the food is fully cooked and served in one step. The choice about rapidly chilling to below 10 C is a cooling step, not parcooking. The option suggesting cooking until microbes are destroyed isn’t a valid or safe description of parcooking.