Spanish Vocabulary you need to know: Kitchen and cooking

¡Comida! Food!

It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t enjoy food, whether cooking or simply eating good food.

It is said that food is our common ground. It creates communities, and it’s a universal language. Food is an experience!

Do you agree?

In our previous post, we talked about unique Colombian food! We counted down our most iconic dishes and explained why you couldn’t leave the country without trying them!

We are also talking about food in this post, but the stage before eating…. cooking!

Learn Spanish while cooking!

Did you know that you can learn Spanish while enjoying your favorite hobbies?

Yes! If you are determined to learn Spanish, you can practice and improve this language while enjoying your favorite hobby, no matter what kind of hobby it is.

You can practice Spanish while reading books, watching movies, and why not, while cooking!

So, this is an unmissable post for all those who want to learn Spanish and love cooking!

Note: You can also refer to this article we wrote back in 2020!

Colombian Culture & Cooking

Cooking plays an essential role in Colombian Culture.

Commonly, friends and family gather to share delicious homemade dishes, make barbecues or go for a “paseo de olla.”

When going to someone’s home for lunch or dinner, don’t be surprised if people gather in the kitchen to talk while cooking.

The “Mi casa, tu casa” saying is real!

People will always make you feel at home when you go to Colombia. No doubt why the latest country’s campaign is Colombia, the most welcoming place on earth.

Ok, let’s go back to business.

Kitchen and Cooking Vocabulary in Spanish

In this post, you will learn the key Spanish vocabulary related to cooking and the kitchen, from a list of the most used appliances and utensils to verbs and ingredients to prepare food and drinks.

What does “Barriga llena, corazón contento” mean? Is it just about food? Find out here!

Oh, one thing before diving into the vocabulary,

Grammar Tip!

Keep in mind that, while in English, gender is not important unless you are speaking about a living object (i.e. a person or an animal), in Spanish, all nouns (person, place, thing, or idea) have a gender.

So, for talking about kitchen and cooking items, you would need to use:

The “El”, “La”, “Los”, “Las”
A, An “Un”, “Una”, “Unos”, “Unas”

If you are struggling with this topic, go to our article “Tips for mastering Spanish gender.”

1. Parts of the kitchen & Appliances

2. Utensils

3. Verbs

4. Measurements

5. Ingredients

Now, with this vocabulary, we can test our cooking skills!

If you are not in Colombia, you can always practice at home, wherever in the world you are, with online recipes and cooking tutorials.

Advice: when trying new recipes, don’t look for the English version. Go instead to the Spanish version!

You will learn new vocabulary and improve your listening skills in Spanish!

Here are three websites you can check:

• My Colombian Recipes
• Colombia.com
• Sweet y Salado

Lastly, let’s practice!

Basic Colombian Recipes

Arepas Rellenas de Queso

Ingredientes (8 arepas)
250 gr Harina de Maíz blanco ( 1 1/3 tazas)
20 gr Mantequilla (1 cucharaditas aprox)
80 gr Queso Mozzarella o doble crema (1/2 taza)
30 gr Queso costeño o Feta (Cualquier otro Queso salado)
380 ml Agua Tibia ( 1 1/2 tazas)
6 a 8 lonjas o rebanadas de Queso doble crema o Mozzarella
Sal

Instrucciones

1. En un tazón mediano mezcle la masa, el agua, la sal y la mantequilla.
2. Amase con las manos durante unos 3 minutos humedeciendo las manos con agua mientras va amasando.
3. Forme 6 pequeñas bolas con la masa.
4. Coloque cada bola entre 2 bolsas de plástico o papel de pergamino y con un plato aplane hasta aproximadamente ⅓ de pulgada.
5. Añada la mantequilla en una sartén a fuego medio.
6. Coloque las arepas en la sartén y cocine durante aproximadamente 3 minutos de cada lado, hasta que estén doradas.
7. Abra las arepas con un cuchillo y rellene con 2 rebanadas de queso mozzarella.
8. Coloque las arepas rellenas de nuevo en la sartén a fuego medio-alto y cocine durante 2 minutos por cada lado o hasta que el queso se derrita
9. Sirva inmediatamente.

2. Patacones

Ingredientes
2 plátanos verdes
Aceite vegetal para freír
Sal al gusto

Instrucciones

1. Pele los plátanos y córtalos en pedazos de aprox. 1 pulgada (3.5 cm) cada uno.
2. Frielos en aceite pre-calentado a 325ºF (163ºC) por unos 3-4 minutos.
3. Retirelos del aceite y déjalos escurrir sobre papel absorbent.
4. Utilizando una tortillera o una “pataconera”, aplane los pedazos de plátano para hacer rodajas de más o menos ¼ de pulgada (1.25 cm) de gruesos.
5. Aumenta la temperatura del aceite a 375ºF (190ºC) y vuelva a freír las rodajas de plátano por unos 3 minutos o hasta que estén doradas.
6. Sácalos del aceite y déjalos escurrir sobre papel de cocina.
7. Agregue un poco de sal al gusto.
8. Sírvelos inmediatamente.

We hope you have enjoyed this article as much as we have enjoyed writing it!

Go get a snack, we bet you are hungry after reading about cooking and food!

If you want to improve your Spanish and learn more about Colombian Culture, drop us a line!
We will be happy to tailor a specific program for you!

We hope to see you in Colombia soon!

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