Cooking & Recipes Vocabulary

Part 1: Cooking & Recipes Collocations

Collocations are words that naturally go together. These phrases are common when talking about cooking & recipes.

Collocation	Example	Meaning
follow a recipe	"I always follow a recipe exactly the first time."	Cook according to written instructions
season to taste	"Add salt and pepper and season to taste."	Adjust the flavour as you like
preheat the oven	"Preheat the oven to 200 degrees."	Heat the oven before cooking
fresh ingredients	"The chef only uses fresh ingredients."	Ingredients that aren't processed or old
home-cooked meal	"Nothing beats a home-cooked meal."	A meal made at home, not bought
bring to the boil	"Bring the water to the boil before adding the pasta."	Heat a liquid until it boils

Collocation	Example
secret ingredient	"The secret ingredient in her sauce is honey."
balanced diet	"Eating a balanced diet keeps you healthy."
rich in flavour	"The stew was rich in flavour after slow cooking."
finely chopped	"Add the finely chopped onions to the pan."
leftover food	"We had leftover food from last night's dinner."

1. I always __________ a recipe exactly the first time.

2. Add salt and pepper and __________ to taste.

3. __________ the oven to 200 degrees.

4. The chef only uses __________ ingredients.

5. Nothing beats a __________-cooked meal.

Idioms add colour and natural expression to your English when talking about cooking & recipes.

too many cooks spoil the broth – too many people involved ruins something "Let one person lead the project - too many cooks spoil the broth."
piece of cake – very easy "That recipe was a piece of cake."
have a lot on your plate – be very busy "I can't help today, I've got a lot on my plate."
bring home the bacon – earn money for the family "She works two jobs to bring home the bacon."
spice things up – make something more interesting "We added chilli to spice things up."
out of the frying pan into the fire – going from a bad situation to a worse one "Quitting that job put him out of the frying pan into the fire."

1. Let one person lead the project - too many __________ spoil the broth.

2. That recipe was a __________ of cake.

3. I can't help today, I've got a lot on my __________.

4. She works two jobs to bring home the __________.

5. We added chilli to __________ things up.

These phrasal verbs are commonly used when talking about cooking & recipes.

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
chop up	cut into small pieces	"Chop up the carrots for the soup."
mix in	combine an ingredient	"Mix in the eggs slowly."
heat up	warm food	"Heat up the leftovers for lunch."
boil over	when liquid rises and spills while boiling	"Watch the pan, it's about to boil over."
dish up	serve food	"Can you dish up the dinner, please?"

Boil over is often used literally for pans, but also figuratively for tempers getting out of control.

Dish up is common in informal British English for serving a meal.

Mix in implies gently combining, different from "stir" which just means moving with a spoon.

1. __________ up the carrots for the soup.

2. __________ in the eggs slowly.

3. __________ up the leftovers for lunch.

4. Watch the pan, it's about to __________ over.

5. Can you __________ up the dinner, please?

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