Cooking in Spanish: Kitchen Verbs and Ingredients
Cooking is one of the best ways to connect with a culture, and if you want to follow Spanish recipes, cook with Spanish-speaking friends, or just understand what's happening on a Latin cooking show, you need the right vocabulary. From the pan to the pantry, here's your guide.
Kitchen Equipment — Los Utensilios de Cocina
Before you start cooking, you need to know what's in the kitchen. These are the tools and equipment you'll reach for most often.
In Spain, the stove is called la cocina (which also means "kitchen" — context tells you which). In Latin America, la estufa is the more common word for stove.
Cooking Verbs — Verbos de Cocina
Spanish cooking verbs are precise. There's a specific word for almost every cooking method, so you won't confuse "boil" with "simmer" once you learn them.
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Basic Ingredients — Ingredientes Básicos
Every kitchen has its staples. These are the ingredients that show up in recipe after recipe, no matter what cuisine you're cooking.
Practice These Words in Vocabito
Flashcards, widgets, and daily reminders to make Spanish stick.
Following a Recipe — Siguiendo una Receta
Spanish recipes use either the infinitive or the imperative form ("cortar" or "corte"). Here are the phrases and measurements you'll encounter when reading a recipe in Spanish.
When a recipe says "al gusto", it means "to taste" — add as much or as little as you want. You'll see this a lot with salt, pepper, and spices in Spanish recipes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common cooking verbs in Spanish?
The essentials are cortar (to cut), hervir (to boil), freír (to fry), mezclar (to mix), hornear (to bake), and cocinar (to cook). With these six verbs, you can follow most basic recipes.
How do you follow a recipe in Spanish?
Spanish recipes use the infinitive or imperative form. Look for verbs like "cortar" (cut), "añadir" (add), "mezclar" (mix), and "dejar reposar" (let rest). Measurements use grams and liters, so knowing gramos, litros, cucharada (tablespoon), and taza (cup) is helpful.
What is the difference between cocinar and cocer?
Cocinar means "to cook" in general — any method of preparing food. Cocer specifically means "to boil" or "to cook by boiling/simmering." So all cocer is cocinar, but not all cocinar is cocer.
How do you say kitchen appliances in Spanish?
Key appliances: el horno (oven), la estufa/cocina (stove), el microondas (microwave), la licuadora (blender), and el refrigerador/la nevera (refrigerator). Note that "stove" is la estufa in Latin America and la cocina in Spain.