Cooking Instructions

English Vocabulary

The following list of verbs frequently appear when reading the cooking instructions of recipes in English. I have included some examples sentences using each verb:

ADD: To put ingredients together; to put one ingredient with the others.

• Add more salt to the dish if necessary.

BAKE: To cook in an oven using heat and without extra fat, oil or liquid.

• It smells good in the kitchen because I’m baking a cake.

BARBECUE: To cook food (usually meat) by using fire or hot coals on a grill outside.

• I’m going to barbecue some sausages for lunch.

BEAT: To stir (usually eggs, cream, butter) quickly and continually to make a smooth or frothy mixture.

• Beat the cream until it starts to thicken.

BLEND: To mix two or more substances so they combine together. Often done in an appliance called a blender which has quickly rotating blades.

• You can blend fruit to make your own smoothie.

BOIL: To heat water or another liquid until little bubbles form.

• Boil the potatoes until they are cooked.

BREAK: To separate into smaller parts by force.

• Break the eggs into a glass bowl.

BROIL: To cook meat or vegetables on a rack with an extremely high temperature.

CARVE: To cut meat into slices.

• Who is going to carve the Thanksgiving turkey?

CHOP: To cut into small pieces, generally used with vegetables.

• Chop the spring onions then add them to the dish.

COMBINE: To put two or more things together.

COOK: To prepare food by heating it so that it is not raw and can be eaten.

• Cook the chicken until there are no pink parts.

CRUSH: To cause to separate or flatten by extreme force, often used with garlic.

CUT: To separate or divide a solid by using a knife.

• He cut the meat into little pieces.

DRAIN: to remove excess liquid from food after washing or cooking it.

• Drain the water from the pot of spaghetti.

FRY: To cook by putting the food into extremely hot oil.

• I fried some bacon and eggs for breakfast.

GRATE: To divide into small parts by rubbing on a serrated surface, usually used with cheese.

• Grate a large carrot and add it to the salad.

GREASE: To coat with oil or butter.

• Make sure you grease the pan before putting the mix in otherwise the cake will stick to the sides.

GRILL: To cook by putting the food on a grill; similar to barbecue. Also refers to heating the food under a grill in a cooker which radiates heat downwards.

KNEAD: To press and stretch dough with your hands. Usually used when making bread.

• Knead the dough for the pizza base.

MEASURE: To obtain an exact quantity or amount of an ingredient.

• Measure exactly half a teaspoon of curry.

MELT: to make something become liquid through heating.

• Melt the butter before adding it to the mix.

MICROWAVE: To heat up food with a microwave oven.

• Remove the food from the metal container before you microwave it.

MINCE: to grind food, normally meat, into small pieces. A machine is often used to do this.

MIX: To combine two or more things using a spoon, spatula, or electric mixer.

• Mix the flour, melted butter and sugar together.

OPEN: To remove the top from a can or jar.

PEEL: To remove the skin or outer layer from fruit or vegetables.

• Peel the potatoes before boiling them.

POUR: To transfer liquid from one container to another.

• Pour the chocolate sauce over the pears.

ROAST: To cook (usually meat and vegetables) in the oven or over a fire.

• We are going to roast the chicken and vegetables.

SAUTÉ: To quickly fry food by placing it in hot oil in a frying pan.

SCRAMBLE: To mix the white and yellow parts of eggs together while cooking them in a pan.

• Scramble the eggs in a frying pan.

SIFT: to put a fine substance through a sieve so as to remove lumps or large particles.

• Sift the flour into a large bowl.

SLICE: To cut into thin or wide portions that are of similar size.

• Slice the tomatoes and add them to the salad.

SPRINKLE: to cover an object or surface with small drops or particles of a substance.

• Sprinkle icing sugar over the cake.

SQUEEZE: to extract a liquid or soft substance from something by compressing it firmly.

• Squeeze the juice from three lemons.

STEAM: To cook by placing the food above boiling water. Steam is the vapor that comes from hot water.

STIR: To mix liquid ingredients by moving a spoon around in a circular motion.

• Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.

STIR-FRY: To cook small pieces of food by moving it quickly in a wok or pan with hot oil.

• I’m going to stir-fry these vegetables.

TENDERIZE: to make meat softer and easier to eat by beating it or adding marinade before cooking it.

• I think we should tenderize the steak before cooking it.

WASH: To immerse food in water to make sure it becomes clean.

• Wash the strawberries before cutting them into pieces.

WEIGH: To measure the weight (grams, ounces or pounds) of something.

• Weigh the mix to make sure you have the right amount.

WHISK: to mix liquids, eggs, etc. into a stiff light mass, using a fork or a special tool (such as a whisk).

• Whisk all of the eggs together with the milk.

Summary Charts

I have just updated my original chart with 20 verbs to make two charts with 16 verbs each (a total of 32 verbs). These are the same verbs that appear in the video.

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