In Italian we have two verbs that both mean ‘to cook’, cucinare and cuocere. Cucinare refers to the work done by il cuoco/la cuoca (the cook), i.e. the process of cooking/making food, e.g oggi cucino le lasagne (today I’m cooking/making lasagne), Maria sa cucinare tutti i piatti tradizionali della zona (Maria knows how to cook/make all the traditional local dishes). Cuocere on the other hand refers to what happens to the ingredients, e.g. baking, boiling, frying etc., e.g. la polenta cuoce in 40 minuti (polenta cooks in 40 minutes), cuocere le patate in forno per quaranta minuti (cook the potatoes in the oven for forty minutes). You can find out more about how to use these two verbs in Lezione di cucina
Let’s have a look at the basic vocabulary of cooking, starting with the main verbs:
| affettare = to slice |
tagliare = to cut |
| bollire, lessare = to boil |
sobbollire = to simmer |
| soffriggere = to sauté |
friggere = to fry |
| rosolare = to brown |
arrostire = to roast |
| infornare = to put in the oven |
sfornare = to take out of the oven |
| macinare = to grind, mill |
tritare = to mince |
| grattugiare = to grate |
frullare = to whisk |
| mischiare = to mix |
mescolare = to stir |
| impastare = to knead |
stendere = to roll out |
| infarinare = to flour |
impanare = to coat with breadcrumbs |
| ungere = to grease |
imburrare = to butter |
| scolare = to strain |
filtrare = to filter |
| condire = to season, dress |
salare = to salt |
| pepare = to pepper |
insaporire = to flavour |
| zuccherare = to sugar |
addolcire = to sweeten |
… and here are a few of the utensili (cooking utensils) that you’ll need:
| pentola = saucepan |
padella = frying pan |
| coperchio = lid |
griglia = grill |
| teglia = baking tray |
tortiera = baking tin for cakes |
| microonde = microwave |
pentola a pressione = pressure cooker |
| robot da cucina = food processor |
frullatore = electric mixer |
| mestolo = ladle |
paletta = cooking spatula |
| forchettone = (big) fork |
cucchiaio = spoon |
| cucchiaino = teaspoon |
mezzaluna = two handled chopping knife |
| coltello = knife |
passaverdure = food mill |
| insalatiera = salad bowl |
ciotola = bowl |
| grattugia = grater |
imbuto = funnel |
| caraffa dosatrice = measuring jug |
schiacciapatate = potato masher |
| colapasta = colander |
colino = strainer |
| bilancia = scale |
tagliere = chopping board |
| frusta = whisk |
pelapatate = potato peeler |
| setaccio = sieve |
matterello = rolling pin |
Comments:
Kathryn:
Do you mean griglia = grill?
Serena:
@Kathryn Ciao Kathryn, It’s difficult to know exactly how to translate griglia. In English, a grill is usually the whole cooking apparatus, like the grill in the oven. The Italian griglia, on the other hand, is the actual grid that you put the food on to cook it, and not the heating apparatus itself. Try a google image search for griglia, and then one for grill and you will see that the results are quite different. However, for simplicities sake I’ve edited my blog to read ‘grill’
Saluti da Serena
Daniel Léo Simpson:
@ Kathryn
Google translates ‘griglia’ with ‘grid’ (no typo) on the top of the list:
grid
grill
grille
grating
Sue Gollop:
Maria sa cucinare-please tell me when to use potere = to be able to and when to use sapere = to know (how to).. sapere here is used like a modal verb?
Serena:
@Sue Gollop Salve Sue, scusami per il grande ritardo, ma ho avuto ospiti.
‘Sapere’ (to know), when referred to activities, implies that you are able to do that action because you have the knowledge, and is always constructed like a modal verb. ‘Potere’ (to be able) implies that there are the right conditions to do something. E.g. ‘Maria non sa fare il pane’ (Maria doesn’t know how to make bread, or: Maria is not able to make bread); ‘Maria non può fare il pane perché non ha il lievito’ (Maria can’t make bread because she hasn’t got the yeast, or: Maria is not able to make bread because she hasn’t got the yeast).
Spero di essere stata chiara
Serena
Augustine:
This article is very useful and informative.
Thank you very much Serena.
Augustine Madanu
Mulder,Jeannet:
Ciao Serena,
as usual molto utile, grazie!
Jeannet
Doctor Bill:
Another useful article . I had planned to do something similar last weekend
Gerard:
I enjoy your email very much. I am learning Italian and your comments help significantly. Keep them coming
Allan Mahnke:
I wonder if there is a confusion between the English (or perhaps more accurately, American) grill and griddle. The former is nearly the same as the Italian griglia, except that griglia would include oven rack. The latter usually includes the heating element.
Tante grazie!!!
Allan
Daniel Léo Simpson:
“I wonder if there is a confusion between the English (or perhaps more accurately, American)”
Yes Alan, this is what I was thinking – A Britt (Geoff)/US (Kathryn) communication breakdown. I searched Google images for “British cooking grid” and every picture showed guess what? Grills – grills out in the backyard or grills in the oven. So I think the breakdown might be that England calls ‘grids’ what American’s call “grills”. I’m still finding differences all the time in my language studies. A UK friend of mine a while back saw I was having trouble with my flashlight and said, “Maybe it’s the batteries – are they flat?” and I said, “Well no – they’re round”. We looked at each other in complete confusion. I said, “My cell phone battery is flat, but flashlight batteries are round.” haha – how did I know that “dead batteries” are called “flat” in England? Haha We laughed for 20 minutes 😉
Daniel Léo Simpson
Composer
San Francisco
Daniel Léo Simpson:
Here’s a smart online store who labels what I know as a “grill” both ‘gril AND grid’. I’ve never heard of a grill (you put the pizza on it in the oven) as a ‘grid’. Nice to learn new things 😉
Stainless Steel Meat Grill / Cooking Grids
http://www.ecvv.com/product/3433183.html