The Kitchen

English Vocabulary

We can put all of our dirty dishes in the dishwasher and it cleans everything for us. Unfortunately the machine is broken for now so we have to clean everything in the kitchen sink by hand with dishwashing liquid and a dish cloth. After dishes have been washed, we place them in the dish rack so that the water drains off them. We then use a small tea towel which we keep near the sink for drying the dishes once they have been washed.

We have a small kitchen so we hang all of our pots and pans from a pot rack. Below that on the wall we keep a small spice rack stocked with cumin, curry powder, and dried red pepper, some of my favourite ingredients to use when I cook.

I use a wooden spatula to stir the pasta sauce while it is heating up in the pot. A saucepan is another way to say pot, and it is a good for making sauces or boiling vegetables.

When I want to make scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast, I first use an eggbeater to mix the eggs together before cooking them in a frying pan. I then use a toaster for the bread.

For Christmas my grandmother uses a large roasting pan to cook the turkey for the whole family.

We put our milk and drinks in the refrigerator to keep them cool. We keep our ice-cream in the freezer so that it doesn't melt. Food that doesn't need refrigeration can be stored in the cupboard.

In many countries it is common to have two different faucets at one sink, one for cold water and one for hot water. In the United States there is normally only one faucet at the sink. In many countries outside of United States, faucets are called taps.

You can find beautiful chopping boards made of wood at the artisan fairs in the South of Chile. We use our chopping board to cut meat and dice tomatoes so that we don't damage the kitchen bench.

Rather than throw leftover scraps of food in the trash can I throw them in the garbage disposal which is under the sink.

I hate instant coffee. I only like coffee made in a real coffee maker with ground coffee beans. I use a small teaspoon to add the coffee and sugar to my cup, then I add water and some milk and stir the contents with the same teaspoon. I don't have a kettle or an electric jug to boil the water so I put a cup of water in the microwave to heat it up.

Good chefs say that food tastes better when cooked on a gas stove, rather than an electric one. Though they are both better than using a microwave oven.

I am still learning to how to cook. I use a cookbook to explain all of the directions needed to make something. Some of the recipes are difficult and require tools, for example a food processor. A food processor is a machine that cuts food into small pieces of very quickly. Mike bought a blender to make fruit smoothies for breakfast, but he uses it mainly for margaritas at night.

Measuring spoons and measuring cups are very helpful when you are baking. You need to be precise with the ratios of each ingredient when you bake and these help you a lot. If you are baking a cake it helps if you cover the cake tin in cooking spray or butter before pouring in the cake mix. This way after the cake is baked and cooled it will come out of the cake tin easily. Be careful when taking a baking tray out of the oven. Be sure to use an oven mitt or oven gloves so that you don't burn your hands. To make sure you don't get food all over you clothes while cooking you should wear an apron.

When making Italian food it helps to have special tools like a sieve to drain the water from the pasta or a garlic press so that you do not have to chop the garlic with a knife. When making a pizza it helps to have a rolling pin to flatten the dough to make a thin pizza base.

If you are making Asian food you normally cook the meat and vegetables in a wok instead of a normal pan. Many people also eat Asian food with chopsticks which are two long think pieces of wood used for eating. They can sometimes be difficult to use if you are not used to them so you may want to use regular silverware, including forks, knives, and spoons.

Be careful when you use the can opener, it leaves sharp edges and you can cut your hand on the rim of the can.

When serving soup use a ladle, or a big spoon, so that you don't spill the soup as you put it in the bowl.

A peeler is a tool that helps take the skin or peel off of a fruit or vegetable.

Next Activities

Try our interactive vocabulary game about the Kitchen.

If you would like to test your vocabulary (and spelling) about The Kitchen, try this Hangman Game.

You may also want to check out our list of Verbs that are used when cooking.

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