Explanation
Exercises

B1 Vocabulary — Food & cooking

Useful words for talking about fruit & vegetables, meat & seafood, ways of cooking food and common food phrasal verbs.

B1 Intermediate Food Cooking & diet

1. Fruit & berries

  • grapes small round fruit used to make wine. These grapes are used to make white wine.
  • cherries small red fruit, often on cakes and desserts. We had ice cream with fresh cherries.
  • peach sweet fruit with soft pink-orange skin. This peach is really juicy.
  • apples, pears very common fruits eaten raw or cooked. She sliced some apples and pears for a snack.
  • mango tropical fruit with sweet orange flesh. I made a mango smoothie for breakfast.
  • watermelon very large fruit with green skin and red flesh. Cold watermelon is perfect on a hot day.
  • raspberries small soft berries often used in desserts. We topped the cheesecake with raspberries.

2. Vegetables

  • carrots long orange vegetables, usually cooked or eaten raw. She added carrots to the soup.
  • broccoli green vegetable rich in vitamins. We had grilled chicken with broccoli.
  • spinach dark green leaves full of iron. He made an omelette with spinach.
  • green beans long thin beans eaten as a side dish. I usually steam green beans.
  • peppers red, yellow or green vegetables that give flavour and colour. We fried some peppers with onions.
  • courgette (UK) / zucchini (US) long green vegetable with white flesh. They served roasted courgettes with cheese.
  • aubergine (UK) / eggplant (US) vegetable with smooth dark-purple skin. We had pasta with grilled aubergine.
  • cabbage round vegetable with many layers of leaves. Cabbage is often used in salads and soups.
  • cauliflower white vegetable similar in shape to broccoli. They made a curry with cauliflower and peas.

3. Meat & poultry

  • beef meat from a cow. We had roast beef for Sunday lunch.
  • turkey large bird often eaten on special holidays. They cooked a big turkey for Thanksgiving.
  • chicken white meat from a chicken, considered quite healthy. I ordered grilled chicken with salad.
  • duck richer, darker meat from a duck. Duck is very popular in many Asian dishes.
  • pork meat from a pig. We bought some pork for the barbecue.
  • lamb meat from a young sheep. They slow-cooked lamb with herbs.

4. Fish & seafood

  • salmon popular fish with pink flesh. We had baked salmon with lemon.
  • tuna large fish; often sold in tins. She made a tuna salad sandwich.
  • squid sea animal often served as calamari. We ordered fried squid at the restaurant.
  • prawns small shellfish with soft tasty meat. He cooked pasta with prawns and garlic.
  • crabs shellfish with hard shells and claws. They served fresh crab on the beach.
  • lobster large expensive shellfish with claws. Lobster is a special treat for them.
  • clams shellfish that live in sand. We tried pasta with clams.
  • oysters luxury shellfish that can produce pearls. They shared a plate of fresh oysters.
  • mussels shellfish with dark shells and orange flesh. Mussels in tomato sauce are my favourite.

5. Ways of cooking food

  • steamed cooked in steam over boiling water; usually without oil. We ordered steamed fish and vegetables.
  • boiled cooked in very hot water. Boiled potatoes are healthier than chips.
  • fried cooked in hot oil or fat in a pan. He made fried eggs for breakfast.
  • baked cooked in the oven, often with flour and yeast. The kitchen smelled of freshly baked bread.
  • roasted cooked for a long time in the oven or over a fire. They served roasted chicken with vegetables.

6. Food & diet phrasal verbs

  • eat out = eat in a restaurant, not at home. We usually eat out on Friday nights.
  • cut down on (something) = eat less of something. I’m trying to cut down on sugar.
  • go on a diet = follow a special eating plan to lose weight or be healthier. Tom went on a diet before the summer.
  • put on weight = become heavier. I put on weight during the holidays.
  • lose weight = become lighter. She lost weight after changing her diet.

Tip: try to learn each word together with a typical verb or phrase (roasted potatoes, eat out, cut down on sugar) so it is easier to remember and use in real life.

Exercises:
1
2
3
4

Food & cooking

Choose the correct option to complete each sentence below.
1
We made juice from these small round fruits that grow in big bunches: .
Correct: Grapes are small round fruits that grow in bunches and are used for juice or wine.
2
She put red on top of the cake; each one has a small stone inside.
Correct: Cherries are small red fruits with a single stone in the middle.
3
This soft orange fruit has a big stone inside and a slightly hairy skin; it is a .
Correct: A peach is soft, orange, and has a hairy skin and one large stone.
4
In autumn we pick red and green from the tree and make pies.
Correct: Apples are common red or green fruits we often use for pies.
5
These fruits are green or yellow and are wider at the bottom than at the top; they are .
Correct: Pears have a special shape: thin at the top and wider at the bottom.
6
This sweet tropical fruit has orange flesh inside and one large flat stone; it is a .
Correct: A mango is a tropical fruit with orange flesh and one big flat stone.
7
On hot days we share a big green fruit with red inside and black seeds; it is a .
Correct: A watermelon is a very large fruit with green skin and red inside.
8
She put fresh on her yogurt; they are small, soft red berries with many tiny parts.
Correct: Raspberries are small soft red berries made of many tiny parts.
9
Rabbits love these long orange vegetables that grow in the ground: .
Correct: Carrots are long orange root vegetables that rabbits like.
10
This green vegetable looks like many small trees; it is called .
Correct: Broccoli is a green vegetable that looks like tiny trees.
11
I like this dark green leafy vegetable in salads and pasta; it is .
Correct: Spinach is a leafy green vegetable we often eat in salads or cooked.
12
For dinner we steamed long thin green vegetables in pods; they were .
Correct: Green beans are long thin green pods that you cook and eat as a side dish.
13
We filled these red and yellow vegetables with rice and baked them; they were .
Correct: Peppers can be red, yellow or green and are often filled with food and baked.
14
In British English this long green vegetable is called a .
Correct: In British English the long green vegetable is a courgette (UK).
15
In American English the same long green vegetable is called a .
Correct: In American English this vegetable is a zucchini (US).
16
In British English this dark purple vegetable is called an .
Correct: In British English the purple vegetable is an aubergine (UK).
17
In American English the same dark purple vegetable is called an .
Correct: In American English it is an eggplant (US).
18
This round green or white vegetable has many layers of leaves and is used in salads and soups: .
Correct: Cabbage is a round vegetable with many layers of leaves.
19
This white vegetable looks like a white broccoli; we often eat it with cheese sauce: .
Correct: Cauliflower is a white vegetable that looks like broccoli.
20
We had a steak made from meat from a cow; it was .
Correct: Meat from a cow is called beef.
21
At Christmas they cooked a big bird, larger than a chicken; it was .
Correct: A large bird we often eat at Christmas or Thanksgiving is a turkey.
22
Nuggets and wings are usually made from meat.
Correct: Nuggets and wings are made from chicken.
23
In that restaurant we ate a fatty bird with crispy skin, sometimes served with orange sauce; it was .
Correct: The fatty bird often served with orange sauce is duck.
24
Bacon, sausages and many chops are made from meat from a pig; this meat is called .
Correct: Meat from a pig is called pork.
25
In some countries people eat meat from a young sheep; this meat is called .
Correct: Meat from a young sheep is called lamb.

Food & cooking

Match the sentences with the food words
⏱ 0:00 • Moves: 0 • Matched: 0/0 • Pack: 1/3

Sentences

Words

Food & cooking

Food & cooking