Basic Cooking knowledge

1. COOKING AND
RESTAURANTS

2.  boil: in water, e. g. potatoes or rice
 fry: in oil or butter above the heat, e. g. sausages
 grill: under the heat, e. g. toast or meat
 roast: in the oven using oil, e. g. meat
 bake: in the oven without oil, e. g. cakes
(Note: Food which is not cooked is raw.)
WAYS OF COOKING FOOD

3.  rare (= cooked quickly and red inside)
 medium-rare (= cooked longer but still red in the middle)
 medium (= cooked more and pink)
 well-done (= cooked longer and not pink)
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR STEAK?

4. Taste the sauce (= try a bit to see if it´s good)
and add salt if necessary.
You can really taste the garlic in this.
It´s very tasty. (= lots of flavour – a positive word)
WHAT DOES IT TASTE LIKE?

5.  salty: lots of salt
 hot/spicy: lots of spices, e. g. curry, chilli
 sweet: lots of sugar
 bitter: e. g. very strong coffee
 sour: e. g. lemons
 fresh: recently produced or picked, e. g. fresh bread, fresh
fruit
 fattening: food wich makes you put on weight/
DESCRIBING FOOD AND DRINK

6.  fattening: food which makes you put on weight/get fat, e. g.
cream, cakes, etc.
 healthy: good for your health/fitness, e. g. salad or fruit
 chilled (= very cold), e. g. white wine is usually chilled
 still: describes water without gas
 sparkling is water with gas (also called fizzy water)
DESCRIBING FOOD AND DRINK

7.  Starters
Leek and potato soup
Onion soup
Grilled spicy prawns
Spaghetti with courgette and bacon
Warm goat´s cheese with spinach salad
Ham omelette
Caviar egg
A TYPICAL MENU

8.  Main Courses
Pan fried salmon with spinach
Breast of chicken in a white wine sauce with mushrooms
Roast fillet of pork with apple sauce
Grilled steak in a pepper sauce
Boiled beef, mixed vegetables, potatoes
Grilled chicken, French fried potatoes
A TYPICAL MENU

9.  Desserts
Chocolate cake with cream
Fresh fruit salad with cream
Pancakes with ice-cream
Chocolate mousse
Strawberries with fresh cream
Apple pie
Selection of cheese with home-made bread
A TYPICAL MENU

10.  mousse (= a light cold food made from eggs mixed with
cream: chocolate mousse, salmon mousse)
 pepper – 1. powder (greyish black or creamy coloured powder
produced by crushing dry pepper corns, which is used to give a
spicy/hot taste to food)
- 2. vegetable that is usually green, red and yellow,
has a rounded shape and is hollow with seeds in the middle
USEFUL WORDS

11.  paprika – a red powder used as a spice to give a slightly hot
flavour to food, expecially in meat dishes
 salt cellar (US usually saltshaker) – a small container with
salt
 pepper pot (US pepper shaker) – a small container with
several holes in the top that contains pepper
USEFUL WORDS

12.  pepper mill – a small device, the top part of which you turn by
hand to crush the peppercorns
 vinegar
 oil
 napkins
 toothpicks
USEFUL WORDS

13.  Do you often eat the following food in your country? If so, do
you eat it in the same way?
raw fish fried rice
fried eggs baked potatoes
roast beef raw spinach
roast peppers boiled eggs
grilled cheese baked bananas
EXERCISES

14.  Look at the menu and answer these questions:
1. Which starter doesn´t contain vegetables?
2. Which dish contains pasta?
3. Which main course may be rare or well-done?
4. Which main course is definitely cooked in the oven?
EXERCISES

15. 5. Which main course will probably be quite spicy?
6. Which main course contains alcohol?
7. Which dessert(s) will be quite sweet?
8. If you don´t want to put on weight, which would probably be
the best dish for the main course?
9. What would be your advice to people who don´t want to put
on weight?
EXERCISES

16. Choose an adjective which could describe these things:
honey ……………. bacon …………………
lemon ……………. fillet steak ………….
bread ……………. cakes ………………….
mineral water ….. coffee ………………..
EXERCISES

17. Answer these questions about the food you like, and eating in
your country. If possible, answer another person the same
questions.
1. Do you eat steak? If so, how do you like it cooked?
2. Do you like hot spicy food?
3. In restaurants, do you normally drink still or sparkling
water?
EXERCISES

18. 4. Do waiters normally leave fresh bread on the table?
5. Do you normally eat a starter, main course and dessert when
you eat out?
6. How many of these do you normally find on the table in a
café or restaurant in your country?
salt pepper oil vinegar napkins toothpicks
EXERCISES