Kitchen Vocabulary: 48 Things in the Kitchen You Don’t Know in English

Here’s an interesting little thing about learning a language:

The small things can be the biggest problems.

Let me explain:

Your English is getting good now. (Congratulations, by the way.)

You can use your English at work with your foreign workmates.

You feel confident when you’re travelling — because you can express yourself in English.

You can read and watch stuff online with less and less stress every day.

You can even explain the storyline of Total Recall.

via GIPHY

Seriously — what was that film about?

But then you’re at a foreign friend’s house. You’re helping out with the dinner, and you need to ask your friend where this is:

And you realise you don’t know what on earth this is in English.

Then you need to find this:

And you don’t know that, either.

And then you realise you don’t know half the kitchen vocabulary in English.

How did it come to this?

It’s a common problem, so I went through my kitchen and took photos of 48 everyday kitchen objects that you probably don’t know. Probably.

So here they are.

Ladle

This kitchen item always makes me want to eat soup.

Masher

This is sometimes called a potato masher, but I think most people would just call it a masher.

I mean, what if you want to mash something other than a potato?

Stranger things have happened.

Wooden spoon

It’s a spoon. Made of wood.

Spatula

other names: egg slide

We all know what this is, right?

Good. Let’s move on.

Tongs

Making hot dumplings?

Or barbecued zucchini?

Or do you need to rescue your phone from the toilet?

You might need these.

Peeler

Often known as a potato peeler, this guy takes the skin off potatoes, carrots, beetroots, kiwi fruits … the list is endless.

Is it just me, or does peeling a potato kind of feel like you’re shaving it?

Potato barber?

Measuring spoons

Small spoons with precise measurements written on them so you can do super-detailed cooking!

Measuring cups

Larger cups with precise measurements on them so you can do detailed cooking — with larger portions!

Tea strainer

It may not surprise you to learn that I’m a massive fan of tea.

But not tea in tea bags (most of the time).

Loose leaf tea!

But in order to avoid getting a mouthful of wet, slimy tea leaves, I use this!

Colander

Have you ever tried to live without a colander?

I didn’t have one for a few months, and I was surprised how many dishes need a colander.

Especially if most of your food consists of pasta. (I was a student at the time.)

Chopping board

other names: cutting board

This is one of the most fun parts of doing things in the kitchen — chopping things with a massive knife!

It’s the part of cooking that makes you really feel like you’re doing stuff!

Knife vs sharp knife

OK. This is one of those weird little things that can confuse even first-language English speakers.

Technically, the one on the left is a butter knife.

But no one says that. Especially the vegans.

So we just say a knife, or maybe a normal knife.

The other one is a tomato knife or just a sharp knife.

Knife sharpener

other names: sharpening steel, honing steel, butcher’s steel and others

I really like good knives.

We bought some awesome ones from an Asian shop last time we were in Australia (where we picked up some interesting Australian phrases).

They cut through a potato as if it were butter.

They’re sharper than a Samurai sword.

And I want them to stay sharp!

So I use this.

(Also, it feels really good to sharpen a knife. Try it!)

Edit: It turns out “knife sharpener” is not the technical term (though it’s commonly used). Sharpening steel and honing steel are some of the technically correct terms. Thanks to Zumbruk for pointing this out.

Tablespoon vs teaspoon

OK. Of course you know what a spoon is.

But make sure you know the difference between a tablespoon (on the left) and a teaspoon (on the right).

You do now?

Great!

Can opener

other names: tin opener

A can opener opens cans.

Some of these are quite logical, yeah?

Cork

Here’s something strange that I noticed when I went back to the UK recently. Most wine bottles don’t use corks anymore — just metal screw tops like you get with non-wine bottles.

I don’t know why. Corks are nice!

Corkscrew / bottle opener

OK. There are two parts to this device.

The curly thing with a sharp end that we use to open wine bottles (if there’s a cork, of course)? That’s a corkscrew or bottle opener.

The other part that opens beer bottles? That’s just a bottle opener.

You can also say cap opener — if you like American English.

Garlic crusher

other names: garlic press

I know, I know. My garlic crusher looks weird and is a bit different from typical garlic crushers.

But it still does its job!

And what is its job?

Surprisingly … a garlic crusher crushes your garlic for you! Just like you crush your enemies!

Lemon squeezer

Other names: lemon juicer

You know what this is, right?

The picture’s doing my work for me here.

Goggles

“But goggles don’t belong in the kitchen!” I can hear you say.

Actually, I’m surprised by how few people have goggles in the kitchen.

Here’s why I have goggles in my kitchen.

Cutting onions.

It’s a nightmare to cut onions, right? They make you cry, and they make your eyes hurt.

Why go through the pain of it all whenever you want a nice pasta dish?

Just put on the goggles.

Oven glove

Other names: oven mitt, potholder

Actually, like my garlic crusher, my oven glove doesn’t look like everyone else’s.

But it serves the same purpose.

We use oven gloves to take hot stuff out of the oven without having to visit the hospital. Again.

Baking paper

other names: parchment paper

It’s that stuff you use to make sure your cakes don’t stick to the baking tray.

Useful, right?

Rolling pin

Again — my rolling pin looks a little different from most.

But it does the same thing.

Particularly useful when you’re making pizza.

Cooling rack

other names: cake rack, wire rack

This isn’t the first thing you buy when you’ve moved into a new house, but it’s pretty useful.

When you’ve made some awesome cookies, or a massive carrot cake, or those strange potato things that don’t quite look right, it’s good to put them on the cooling rack so they can cool down.

All-purpose cleaner

other names: multi-purpose cleaner

This is the stuff we use to clean almost everything — the oven, the bathroom walls, the surfaces (see below).

It’s a cleaner. For all purposes.

So it’s called all-purpose cleaner.

Washing-up liquid

other names: dish detergent, dish soap, dishwashing liquid

Washing-up liquid is for plates, knives, bowls, etc.

Rubber gloves

So you’re doing the washing up, and you don’t want to get wet.

Wear rubber gloves!

Of course, they’re also useful when you’re cleaning, particularly with nasty, toxic chemical products.

Hand soap

other names: handwash, liquid soap

Soap. For hands.

Bin bags

other names: garbage bags, trash bags

Bin bags are bags for your bin.

You put rubbish (or trash or garbage) in them.

Brush

other names: washing-up brush, scrubber

We use it to do the washing up with.

Scraper

OK. It might not be immediately obvious what this is.

You know when you cook something on the cooker, and you end up making a massive mess, with bits of tomato, soup and beans sticking to the cooker surface?

What do you do about it?

You could try and scrub it off with the brush (see above).

Or just get a scraper and scrape it off.

Much easier, yeah?

Cloth

other names: dishcloth

What’s a cloth? Well — it’s just a piece of material. It can be weak and simple, or it can be strong and sturdy (like my one in the picture).

We usually use it to “wipe” something with — the table, the cooker, your kids’ faces after they’ve attempted to eat that soup.

Kitchen towel

other names: paper towel

Another incredibly useful kitchen thing.

Especially when you’ve got messy kids.

(For the record, I don’t have messy kids. I AM the messy kid.)

Tea towel

other names: dishtowel

We can see what this is, right?

It’s mostly used to dry the other things on this list.

Plastic wrap

other names: cling film, cling wrap, shrink wrap, food wrap, Saran wrap

I checked this one out online and it actually has loads of different words.

It’s also known as: cling film, plastic wrap, food wrap, cling wrap and monstercat.

OK. Not monstercat. But the others are real.

Aluminium foil

other names: tin foil

I know this picture is not the best one on the list.

Have you ever tried to take a picture of aluminium foil?

It’s surprisingly difficult!

Cup vs glass vs mug

OK. This one is quite simple but also a bit complicated.

On the right in the picture, there’s a mug.

Mugs are basically those ceramic things with a handle that you put tea, coffee, hot wine or herbal tea in.

A cup is anything you can drink from that isn’t made of glass.

So that means a mug is a type of cup.

A glass is anything you can drink from that’s made of … you guessed it … glass. A flat-bottomed glass (like the one in the picture) is also known as a tumbler. (Thanks to Lori for that one.)

Here’s a Venn diagram to help:

Saucer

It’s something we usually put our tea or coffee on.

We rarely use it to put sauce on.

But for some reason, it’s called a saucer.

Shouldn’t it be called a “tea-er” or a “coffee-er”?

Frying pan

other names: skillet (US)

We usually use it to fry things in. (Although some people really get creative.)

Saucepan

other names: pot

This is similar to a frying pan but deeper (and usually has a lid).

Jar

Jars are one of the most useful inventions ever.

Like all the good inventions, they’re incredibly simple. But we use them all the time!

Jug

other names: pitcher (US)

A jug is something we use to store and pour liquids.

Pepperpot

other names: pepper shaker

This is where your pepper goes!

Salt shaker

Yeah, I know — it looks like an owl.

Cute, isn’t it?

So this is where you put the salt.

Have you noticed that some restaurants don’t have a clear system for their salt shakers/pepperpots?

They sometimes put salt in the one with a single hole — or sometimes pepper in the one with a single hole.

You can never be sure which one you’re going to get.

Why do they do that?

Apron

Here I am.

But don’t keep looking at my awesome, slightly out-of-control hair.

Look at what I’m wearing!

That’s an apron. It stops your clothes getting stuff on them.

Placemats

other names: table mats

You know these, right?

Little pieces of cloth, plastic or wood that you put your plate on when you’re eating.

What are they for?

Good question. I guess they sort of help stop the table getting dirty?

I never really thought about it. I just use them.

Pump

In some countries, it’s probably not a good idea to drink the tap water.

So you’ll want to buy your water in bottles.

The best way to get the water from the heavy bottle to your glass?

You guessed it! Use a pump!

Plastic container

other names: Tupperware

OK. So you’ve had a meal, and you’ve got leftover food.

So what do you do? You put the food in these containers, put them in the freezer and then forget about them … for a year.

At least, that’s what I do.

Surface

other names: countertop, counter, benchtop, worktop

This looks like a picture of nothing, doesn’t it?

Well, actually it’s a picture of the surface.

That part of the kitchen that you do most of the preparation on.

Or the part of the kitchen that’s completely covered in onion skin, plastic bags and dirty knives by the time you’ve finished cooking.

Egg slicer

Great for cutting avocados, mushrooms, strawberries and bananas. And eggs — if you like that sort of thing. Thanks to Krissie for this one and also for the next one.

Whisk

Balloon whisks have a more rounded end; French whisks are longer and narrower.

To me though, they’ll always just be … whisks.

Coffee pot

Coffee pots come in all different shapes and sizes. Thanks to Maria for suggesting this.

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There we are — 48 (plus three!) things in the kitchen that you probably didn’t know the English word for.

Have I missed anything?

I bet I’ve missed something.

What did I miss?

Let me know in the comments, and I’ll try to add it to the list.

Did you find this useful? Do you know any people (or rabbits) that might also benefit from this? Then BE AWESOME AND SHARE! Spread the knowledge!