Si sa, tutto (o quasi) dell’Italian culture ruota attorno al mondo della cucina e del cibo! Sono sempre di più gli italiani che aspirano a diventare chef o, più in generale, che puntano ad avere una carriera culinaria internazionale: ecco perché l’inglese in cucina è importante ed ecco perché dovresti conoscere tutte le più note attività ed azioni in cucina in inglese! Soprattutto se si lavora all’estero è importante conoscere e familiarizzare con i termini legati al mondo del cooking: i phrasal verbs, gli idiomi e, perché no, anche i proverbi! Oggi scoprirai tanti termini nuovi ed espressioni utili per parlare di cibo e di cucina: adattandoli a diversi contesti, ti accorgerai presto di saper parlare l’inglese in maniera più naturale!
Inglese in cucina: oggetti, azioni ed espressioni tipiche legate al cibo
Espressioni inglesi che derivano dal mondo del cibo e della cucina:
- To turn up the heat: to intensify criticism or pressure on someone
E.g. The latest allegations of sexual harassment have turned up the heat on the TV network to fire the director of the show.
- Half-baked ideas: ideas which have not been thought out very well
E.g. Have you done any market research to find out if anyone wants to buy seaweed carpets or is this another one of your half-baked ideas?
- To simmer down: to become calm, especially after being very angry
E.g. Let’s take a 15-minute break so everyone can simmer down and then we’ll try again to reach a compromise on the proposal.
- To stir the pot: to deliberately try to make a situation/person more tense or upset
E.g. My uncles were having a good time at the barbecue until my aunt stirred the pot by saying they were loud and drinking too much.
- To cook the books: to falsify the financial figures in a company’s accounting books
E.g. My uncle’s first company had to go out of business because they were cooking the books.
- To whip something up: to quickly prepare some food
E.g. Just make yourself comfortable and watch the game while my husband whips something up for lunch.
- From scratch: to make something from basic ingredients
E.g. We never buy canned pasta sauce. We always make it from scratch using my great-grandmother’s recipe.
- To cook up a storm: to enthusiastically and energetically cook a large amount of food
E.g. At Thanksgiving, my mother and aunt cook up a storm for all of our relatives.
- To grill someone: to interrogate or intensely question someone to get a confession or answers
E.g. My dad always grills me when I come home late after a night out with my friends.
- To butter someone up: to flatter/compliment someone so you can get something
E.g. I tried to butter my father up by mowing the lawn before asking to borrow his car.
- A bad egg/apple: a bad person
E.g. You can’t trust him – he’s simply a bad egg.
- To eat crow: to admit you made a mistake
E.g. When it became clear that the police had arrested the wrong person, they had to eat crow.
- To sugarcoat: to make something that is unpleasant seem more pleasant
E.g. My boss fired me and tried to sugarcoat the situation by saying he would write me a letter of recommendation.
- To egg someone on: to encourage someone to do something stupid
E.g. He has never been in trouble before, so I’m sure his friends egged him on to start the fight.
Inglese in cucina: i nomi delle stoviglie
- Cup/mug: tazza
- Mixing Bowl: insalatiera, ciotola in cui si mescolano gli ingredienti
- Glass: bicchiere
- Jar: barattolo
- Plate: piatto
- Teapot: teiera
Altri oggetti in cucina:
- Bin: cestino
- Cling film/plastic wrap: pellicola per alimenti
- Grill: griglia
- Oven: forno
- Dishwasher: lavastoviglie
- Fridge: frigorifero
- Tea Towel: strofinaccio
- Sink: lavandino
- Tablecloth: tovaglia
- Pan: padella
Attività fondamentali e tipiche azioni in cucina
in inglese!
to do the dishes/to do the washing up: fare i piatti/lavare i piatti
to clear the table: sparecchiare la tavola
to set the table/to lay the table: apparecchiare la tavola
to stir: mescolare
to trim: tagliare
to chop: tritare
to slice: tagliare a fette
to peel: pelare/privare della buccia
Come si cuociono i cibi?
to cook: significa cucinare in generale
to bake: cuocere in forno
to steam: stufare
to grill: grigliare
to boil: bollire
E altri utensili utili…
bottle opener: apribottiglie
chopping board: tagliere
corkscrew: cavatappi
grater: grattugia
kitchen scales: bilancia da cucina
rolling pin: mattarello
whisk: frusta
saucepan: pentola
wooden spoon: mestolo di legno
Proverbi in inglese legati al cibo
- A watched pot never boils: time feels longer when you’re waiting for something to happen
- If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen: if you can’t manage something, leave the work to someone who can
- It’s no use crying over spilled milk: there’s no point being upset about something that happened in the past
- Don’t put all your eggs in one basket: don’t put all of your time/effort/money into one investment
- Don’t bite off more than you can chew: don’t take more responsibility than you can manage
- You can’t have your cake and eat it too: you can’t have everything you want
- You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar: if you want someone to do something for you, it is more effective to use something sweet (being nice) than something sour (being mean)
- The proof is in the pudding: you need to actually do or try something to know if it is good or if it works
- Too many cooks in the kitchen: when there are too many people working on something and the final product suffers
Scopri anche le frasi utili per ordinare al ristorante in inglese: il mondo della cucina, del cibo e dei reality culinari non avrà più segreti per te… e magari grazie anche a un buon corso di inglese per adulti riuscirai a raggiungere risultati davvero sorprendenti. Perché l’inglese si impara in maniera più efficace se lo si fa seguendo un sogno o una grande passione!
