Cooking and baking
Cucinare e fare dolci
- Basic ingredients for cooking
- Expressing obligations
- qualifying adjectives
Learn basic Italian cooking vocabulary and expressions including essential ingredients like il burro and l'aglio, key verbs such as cucinare and mescolare, and how to describe cooking actions with adjectives. Practice real-life dialogues and verb conjugations to build your beginner-level Italian for kitchen conversations.
Listening & reading materials
Practice vocabulary in context with real materials.
Vocabulary (15) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Exercise 1: Reorder sentences
Instruction: Make correct sentences and translate.
Exercise 2: Match a word
Instruction: Match the translations
Exercise 3: Cluster the words
Instruction: Classify the words into two categories, thinking about their role in the kitchen and in preparation processes.
Ingredienti base per cucinare
Azioni in cucina
Exercise 4: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
Gli ingredienti
The ingredients
2
Mescolare
To mix
3
La farina
The flour
4
Cucinare
To cook
5
Il burro
The butter
Esercizio 5: Conversation exercise
Istruzione:
- Explain each step of baking pancakes. (Explain each step of baking pancakes. )
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
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È necessario cuocere il burro. It is necessary to cook the butter. |
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Dobbiamo aggiungere il burro e lo zucchero. We must add the butter and the sugar. |
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Devi aggiungere l'olio e il burro al composto. You have to add the oil and the butter to the mixture. |
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Devi mescolare le uova, il latte e il sale. You have to mix the eggs, the milk and the salt. |
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Cuoci i pancake nella padella. Cook the pancakes in the pan. |
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Mangia i pancake, buon appetito! Eat the pancakes, enjoy your meal! |
| ... |
Exercise 6: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 7: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Io ____ le verdure fresche per la ricetta.
(I ____ fresh vegetables for the recipe.)2. Tu ____ bene gli ingredienti nella ciotola.
(You ____ the ingredients well in the bowl.)3. Lui ____ la cena per la famiglia ogni sera.
(He ____ dinner for the family every evening.)4. Noi ____ piccoli pezzi di pane per l'antipasto.
(We ____ small pieces of bread for the appetizer.)Exercise 8: Cooking a good and easy dinner
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Tagliare - To cut
Presente
- io taglio
- tu tagli
- lui/lei taglia
- noi tagliamo
- voi tagliate
- loro tagliano
Mescolare - To mix
Presente
- io mescolo
- tu mescoli
- lui/lei mescola
- noi mescoliamo
- voi mescolate
- loro mescolano
Cucinare - To cook
Presente
- io cucino
- tu cucini
- lui/lei cucina
- noi cuciniamo
- voi cucinate
- loro cucinano
Preparare - To prepare
Presente
- io preparo
- tu prepari
- lui/lei prepara
- noi prepariamo
- voi preparate
- loro preparano
Exercise 9: Aggettivi qualificativi
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: Qualifying adjectives
Show translation Show answersbuon, grande, facile, fresco, buono
Grammar Share Copied!
It's not the most exciting thing, we admit, but it’s absolutely essential (and we promise it'll pay off)!
Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
Tagliare to cut Share Copied!
Presente
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| (io) taglio | I cut |
| (tu) tagli | You cut |
| (lui/lei) taglia | he/she cuts |
| (noi) tagliamo | we cut |
| (voi) tagliate | you cut |
| (loro) tagliano | they cut |
Mescolare to mix Share Copied!
Presente
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| (io) mescolo | I mix |
| (tu) mescoli | You mix |
| (lui/lei) mescola | he/she mixes |
| (noi) mescoliamo | we mix |
| (voi) mescolate | you mix |
| (loro) mescolano | they mix |
Cucinare to cook Share Copied!
Presente
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| (io) cucino | I cook |
| (tu) cucini | You cook |
| (lui/lei) cucina | he/she cooks |
| (noi) cuciniamo | we cook |
| (voi) cucinate | You cook |
| (loro) cucinano | they cook |
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Welcome to the Cooking and Baking in Italian A1 Course
This lesson introduces you to basic Italian vocabulary and expressions related to cooking and baking. You will learn essential ingredient names, common cooking verbs, and how to describe simple actions in the kitchen. This practical content helps you build a foundation for everyday conversations about food preparation.
What You Will Learn
- Basic Ingredients: Words like il burro (butter), l'aglio (garlic), l'olio (oil), and la farina (flour).
- Cooking Actions: Verbs such as cucinare (to cook) and mescolare (to mix), along with their present tense conjugations.
- Using Adjectives: Describing ingredients with adjectives like fresco (fresh) and dolce (sweet) to better characterize food items.
Practical Dialogues and Exercises
The course includes dialogues for real-life scenarios such as preparing a cake, shopping for fresh ingredients, and discussing cooking steps in Italian. You will also practice verb conjugations with multiple-choice exercises and fill-in-the-gaps stories to reinforce your understanding of the language in context.
Notes on Italian Cooking Language
Italian uses many gendered nouns and adjective agreements, for example una cipolla grande (a big onion) or il burro dolce (sweet butter), which differ from English where adjectives do not change with gender or number. You will learn essential phrases with the verb dovere (must/have to), such as Devo preriscaldare il forno (I have to preheat the oven), helping you express obligations in cooking.
This structured approach will make it easier and more enjoyable to talk about cooking activities and recipes in Italian, building your confidence from basic sentences to natural conversations.
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