What it means
جوشیدن (jushidan) means to boil, to bubble up, to come to a boil. It is an intransitive verb, so the subject is the liquid itself: the water boils, the milk boils. When you want to say you are boiling something, you would use جوشاندن (jushândan), the transitive causative form. The noun stem جوش (josh) also means boiling point, excitement, or even an acne spot, reflecting the same core image of something bubbling to the surface. جوشیدن is attested widely in classical Persian poetry as a metaphor for passion and ferment, well beyond the kitchen.
How to use it
- آب داره میجوشه، بیا چای بریزیم. (âb dâre mijushe, biâ châi berizim.) “The water is boiling, let’s pour the tea.”
- شیر جوشید و سر رفت. (shir jushid o sar raft.) “The milk boiled over.”
- تا آب نجوشیده برنج نریز. (tâ âb najushide berenj nariz.) “Don’t add the rice until the water has boiled.”
- مرباها رو باید بذاری بجوشن تا غلیظ بشن. (marbâ-hâ ro bâyad bezâri bejushan tâ qaliz beshan.) “You have to let the jams boil until they thicken.”
Cultural note
Bringing water to a full boil before adding rice is a non-negotiable step in the chelou and polo traditions of Persian cooking. Recipes passed down in Iranian households specify waiting for a rolling boil, referred to as جوش زدن (josh zadan), before the rice goes in for its brief parboil. The same precision applies to boiling water for Persian tea: a full boil is considered essential before the water touches the tea leaves in the teapot.