This lesson covers Italian words for cooking and meals.
NOUNS
la pentola – pot
il coperchio – lid
la padella – pan
il mestolo – ladle
il cucchiaio di legno – wooden spoon
il colino – colander
il matterello – rolling pin
il cavatappi – corkscrew
il vassoio – tray
la ciotola – bowl
l’insalatiera – salad bowl
le posate – cutlery
il cucchiaio – spoon
il cucchiaino – tea spoon
la forchetta – fork
il coltello – knife
il bicchiere – glass
il piatto – plate
I’m sure your kitchen contains plenty of other useful or essential items that AREN’T listed here (the interns who drew up this list were more familiar with pubs than with kitchens…)
Personally, I couldn’t get by without my ‘testo‘, for example. And the ‘minipimer’ (immersion blender) really comes in handy when I’m preparing a soup…
Why not make a list of your favorite kitchen utensils (checking the Italian words in a good online dictionary) and so personalise the list above?
OK, all ready to cook? You’ll need some verbs!
VERBS
cucinare – to cook
pelare – to peel
condire – to dress
aprire – to open
friggere – to fry
tagliare – to cut
scolare – to drain
grattugiare – to grate
bollire/lessare – to boil
affettare – to slice
sbucciare – to peel
versare – to pour
mescolare – to stir/to mix
cuocere nel forno – to bake
You’ll find plenty more verbs, plus the opportunity to consolidate the ones above, on any Italian recipe website (careful though, they’re all top-heavy with intrusive advertising videos…)
You could try, for instance, https://www.lacucinaitaliana.it/ – or simply search for your favorite dish in an Italian search engine (for example google.it – if you use your normal search engine, only English language results are likely to show up…)
Buon appetito!
