Ways of cooking

Ways of cooking with definitions and example sentences

Bake

to make food such as bread or cakes inside an oven using dry heat

• (as an adjective) baked aubergine
• Bake at 150°C for 30 minutes.
• the scent of freshly/newly baked bread
• I am baking Sophia a cake.

Barbecue

to cook food such as beef or fish on a barbecue grill or over an open fire

• barbecued fish
• We barbecued chicken breasts.

Boil

to cook food by placing it into boiling water

• boiled corn
• a hard-boiled/soft-boiled egg
• I put two eggs on to boil.
• Boil the potatoes for 20 minutes.

Braise

to brown food in a little fat and then cook it with a little liquid in a covered pan

• Braise the beef in red wine.
• braised chicken

Broil

American English. to cook food under direct dry heat

• broiled bacon

Chargrill

to cook meat or vegetable quickly over charcoal

• chargrilled potatoes

Deep-fry

to cook food by placing it under the surface of hot oil

• He tried to deep-fry chicken wings.

Fry

to cook food in a pan using oil or fat

• fried egg
• He fried fish for me.

Grill

to cook meat, fish or vegetables on a flat metal frame over a coal fire

• grilled sausages
• Grill the tomatoes for 5-10 minutes.

Heat up

to make something hot or warm

• Can I heat up the pizza in the oven?

Microwave

to cook or heat something in a microwave oven

Parboil

to boil food for a short time before it is grilled, roasted etc.

• Parboil the tomatoes for three minutes before you skin them.

Poach

to cook something gently in a small amount of boiling liquid such as water, milk, wine, etc.

• poached chicken
• Poach the fish in vegetable stock.

Roast

to cook food such as meat or vegetables with dry heat in an uncovered pan in an oven or over an open fire

• She roasted the chicken with olive oil, pepper and fresh herbs.

Sauté

to cook food quickly in an open pan using a little oil or fat

• Sauté the garlic for three minutes.
• (as an adjective) sauté spinach

Scramble

to cook an egg by mixing the white and yolk together and then stirring and heating with butter in a pan

• I’ll scramble the eggs with tomato.
• scrambled/boiled/poached egg

Simmer

to cook or heat food by boiling it gently at low temperatures

• Let the sauce simmer for ten minutes.

Steam

to cook or heat food in steam

• steamed vegetables

Stew

to cook food such as meat or fruit by boiling slowly in a closed dish

• stewed chicken

Stir-fry

to fry small pieces of food quickly over high heat by stirring them frequently

• Stir-fry meat for 3-4 minutes, and then add sauce.
• Stir-fried vegetables

Toast

to cook or heat food by putting it close to a high heat until it browns or crisps

• I want my bread toasted.

See also:

Taste of food

Food preparation verbs

Vocabulary Cards