Essential English Vocabulary for Cooking
Cooking is a great way to try different delicious foods, but it can also be a fun hobby.
If you’d like to try cooking yourself, there are many English websites with great recipes for you to discover. But to understand them, you’ll first need to know some basic English cooking terms.
Basic English for Cooking
Prep
"Prep" is short for "preparation," which means getting your tools and ingredients ready in order to cook.
I need some time to prep before I begin cooking.
"Prepping" is also common.
Prepping properly can save you lots of time and extra work in the kitchen.
Cutting words
Cooking often involves lots of cutting. But there are different words depending on the kind of cutting you're doing.
Chop
"Chop" is a standard way to say "cut" in recipes.
Chop the carrots carefully on the cutting board.
Dice
"Dicing" something is cutting it into small squares, just like dice from a board game.
Please dice these tomatoes for me.
Mince
"Mincing" is cutting something into the smallest pieces you can.
This recipe calls for half a cup of minced celery.
*"Call for" is a common cooking term that means "requires."
Slice
When you "slice" something, you cut it into flat pieces of a similar size.
My dad always slices the turkey at the start of Thanksgiving dinner every year.
Preheat
"Preheating" an oven is setting it to a particular temperature in preparation for cooking something.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Bake
Food is "baked" when it's cooked in an oven — think of foods like bread and cakes.
They've been in the kitchen all morning baking bread.
Roast
"Roasting" is also cooking in an oven or over a fire. Roasting is usually done with meat and vegetables.
Place the pork on a baking dish and roast it for one hour.
Fry
Foods that are "fried" are cooked in oil.
Fry the dough in a pan of oil until it turns brown.
When the food being cooked is covered in oil completely, it's called "deep frying." And when you "stir-fry," you're cooking in a frying pan with oil while mixing various ingredients.
"Stir-fry" is also a noun for a hot dish of mixed vegetables or meat that has been cooked this way.
I had a delicious vegetable stir-fry for lunch.
Stir
When you "stir" food, you move it around with a spoon or other kitchen tool. This is done to mix ingredients or to help them cook evenly.
Add eggs, flour and a cup of milk to a bowl, then stir for 3 minutes.
Boil
"Boiling" something is cooking it in water that's hot enough to produce bubbles and steam.
I had a steak with a side of boiled vegetables for dinner.
Broil
Be careful — this is different than "boil"!
When you "broil" something, you cook it by directly exposing it to fire.
Place the fish in a baking dish and broil in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
Related article: What's the Difference Between These English Words?
Simmer
When foods or liquids "simmer," their heat is being kept at a level just below the point when they begin to boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover the pan and let the sauce simmer for 3 minutes.
Sauté
Food is "sautéed" when it's cooked quickly in a little bit of fat.
My pan isn't large enough to sauté all of these vegetables!
"Sauté" is also a noun referring to food that has been cooked this way.
The red wine really went well with the sauté I prepared.
Grill
As a noun, a "grill" is a set of metal bars placed over a fire for cooking. When you cook food this way, you're grilling (verb) it.
Let's put some hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill and have a barbecue!
Grill the salmon until each side is golden brown.
Sprinkle
"Sprinkling" is lightly dropping very small pieces of something onto a dish or mixture.
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley before serving.
Season
Did you know "season" can be a verb? It means "adding salt, herbs or spices to improve flavor."
Season the steak with salt and pepper before cooking it for a richer flavor.
The noun version is "seasoning."
This dish tastes pretty good, but it needs a bit of seasoning.
Pinch
Generally, "pinching" is squeezing something between your finger and thumb. But in cooking, it's a noun for a very small amount of powder, such as sugar or pepper.
Add a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of pepper.
Wrap-up
Cooking will open up a new world of tasty possibilities for you. Just make sure you're ready by learning the basic vocabulary you need in the kitchen!
Why not practice using these words in a friendly chat with an Engoo tutor? Many of them enjoy cooking as well, so give it a try! 🍽️
