Cooking - Spanish (Mexico)

Talking about Kitchen Items

In any Mexican kitchen, you’ll find many different utensils and appliances. La cocina can refer to the kitchen space or the stove itself. To store food, you use el refrigerador. If you want to heat something quickly, use el horno de microondas or simply el microondas. For baking, use el horno. To wash dishes, you go to el fregadero.

For preparing food, there are items like la cuchara for stirring or serving, el cuchillo for cutting, and el tenedor for eating. You place the meal on el plato, and liquids go in el vaso or la taza. Other useful items include el batidor for mixing, el colador for straining, and el rallador for shredding. For different cooking processes, you need la olla (a pot) or la sartén (a pan). For specific tasks: el abrelatas (can opener), la espátula (spatula), and la licuadora (blender).

You gather around la mesa and sit on la silla to eat together.

Common Actions in the Kitchen

Describing what you do in the kitchen in Spanish often involves verbs that relate to different cooking steps, preparation and organization.

For preparation, you might need to cortar vegetables or pelar potatoes. If a recipe calls for small pieces, you should picar the ingredients. When you need to add something to the mix, you agregar. If you want to check the taste, you should probar. After cooking, don't forget to limpiar everything.

For cooking methods, use hervir for boiling, freír for frying, hornear for baking, asado for roasting/grilling, saltear for sautéing, and sancochar for parboiling. To combine ingredients, you can mezclar (mix) or revolver (stir). Sometimes you need to enjuagar (rinse) or escurrir (drain/pour off water). Before serving, you should organizar everything on the table and finally servir the food. Don't forget that you can also salar (add salt).

Examples:

• Voy a hervir el arroz en la olla.
• Puedes cortar la carne con ese cuchillo.
• Después de cocinar, siempre hay que limpiar la cocina.
• Vamos a hornear una torta en el horno.
• Mezcla las verduras en la ensaladera.

Describing the Food

When talking about what you can find or prepare in the kitchen, use basic vocabulary for foods and drinks. El agua, el café, la leche, el jugo, and el té are common drinks. Main dishes might include el pollo, el pescado, la carne, or la sopa. For side dishes, you might use el arroz, la pasta, or la ensalada. For breakfast, you often use el pan and maybe la galleta. There’s also el helado for dessert and la torta (cake or sandwich, depending on the region).

Ingredients are called los ingredientes, and you often use la fruta and la verdura for healthy sides.

Examples:

• Sirve el jugo en un vaso.
• La sopa está caliente.
• Quiero una taza de café.
• Las frutas y verduras son importantes en la comida mexicana.
• ¿Quieres probar la torta?

In many Mexican households, the kitchen is a central place for socializing and preparing delicious and varied dishes, reflecting a rich culinary heritage.