The Kitchen Environment

In the kitchen (cucina), a variety of cibi are prepared, stored, and sometimes even grown—think of keeping a fresh la pianta like basil on your countertop. Typical kitchen appliances include the forno for baking and roasting, and the frigorifero for keeping ingredients and leftovers cold. Washing up is easier with la lavastoviglie if you have one, or else by hand. Cooking involves using a padella for frying or sautéing, and a pentola for boiling or simmering.

Essential items for preparing and serving food are gli ingredienti, various le spezie to add flavor, and a piatto for serving. You’ll also need le stoviglie (general term for dishes and cutlery) and le utensili to handle, cut, and prepare the ingredients. Each kitchen has a varietà of these tools to make all kinds of recipes (la ricetta).

Examples: * Metti i piatti nella lavastoviglie dopo cena. * Uso la padella per friggere le uova. * Il frigorifero è pieno di cibi freschi. * Seguo la ricetta per preparare il sugo.

Furniture and Appliances

Kitchens typically include specific furniture and fixtures. Food can be prepped on il banco (the countertop) or il piano (the worktop). Dishes or ingredients might be stored in il mobiletto (the cupboard). The sink area is made up of il lavabo (the sink) and il rubinetto (the faucet), which is used for washing food, hands, and dishes.

Examples: * Lavo le verdure nel lavabo sotto il rubinetto. * Metto i bicchieri nel mobiletto sopra il banco. * Taglio il pane sul piano.

Food Preparation

Preparing food involves several steps and techniques. Often you begin by aggiungere (adding) ingredients, then mescolare (mixing) them, especially for sauces (sughetto). Baking or boiling (Cottura) happens in the forno or on the stove with a pan or pot. Different textures and results are achieved by processes such as sbollentare (to blanch), or when something gets aggarbugliato (tangled).

Senses are involved too; you might notice l'odore (the smell) of a dish, or tocco (the touch) of a dough to feel if it's right. Keeping the space clean (pulito) is crucial, so pulire (to clean) and rimuovere (to remove) leftovers or stains is part of every session. Handling la produzione di rifiuti (waste production) is also routine, so learning to rinsaccare (to re-bag or bag up) trash is necessary. Sometimes the countertop may get sporco (dirty) and needs a wipe.

Results may vary—a dish may not turn out uguale (the same) every time, especially for learners.

Examples: * Aggiungere le spezie alla pentola e mescolare bene. * Dopo aver cucinato, bisogna pulire il banco perché è sporco. * Rimuovere i torsoli delle mele prima di cuocerle. * Il sughetto ha un buon odore oggi.