ABOUT THE FOOD PRODUCTION

Food Service Vocabulary

• 1.-Types of Food—Vocabulary
  • Vegetables
  • Fruits
  • Grains, Beans and Nuts
  • Meat and Poultry
  • Fish and Seafood
  • Dairy Foods
  • Types of Food Quiz
• 2.-Cooking Vocabulary
• 3.-Kitchens and Kitchenware Vocabulary
• 4.-Dining Vocabulary
• 5.-Restaurant Vocabulary
• 6.-Food and Health Vocabulary

Foods of the World Vocabulary

Find out about the national cuisines listed below and learn vocabulary for ordering the most popular dishes in each.

• British Food Vocabulary
• Chinese Food Vocabulary
• French Food Vocabulary
• Indian Food Vocabulary
• Italian Food Vocabulary
• Mexican Food Vocabulary
• Thai Food Vocabulary

1.- GENERAL SECTION

appetizer (noun): food served before the main course - For our appetizers we'll have spring rolls and fish cakes, please.

aroma (noun): a nice smell, especially from food, wine, coffee, etc. - I love the aroma of freshly-baked bread.

bake (verb): to cook in an oven - Have you ever tried baking a cake?

bland (adjective): having little taste; tasteless - Most people think British food is bland.

course (noun): one part of a meal - French meals usually have three courses; the hors d’oeuvre, the entrée and the dessert.

cuisine (noun): a country or region's style of cooking - There's more to Italian cuisine than pizza and pasta.

cutlery (also silverware) (noun): knives, forks, and spoons used for eating - We only use our best cutlery on special occasions.

dairy product (noun): a food made from milk, like butter, cheese, yoghurt, etc. Dairy products are becoming more popular in Asia.

delicious (adjective): tasting very good - The food in this restaurant is really delicious.

dessert (noun): sweet food eaten at the end of a meal - Have you ever tried Middle-eastern desserts like baklava?

diet (noun): all the foods a person or animal usually eats - My doctor said a vegetarian diet rich in protein is best.

dish (noun): 1. a deep plate for cooking or serving food - I baked the pie in a special pie dish. 2. food prepared and cooked in a particular way - What's your favourite French dish?

entrée (noun): 1. the main course of a meal 2. a course before the main course (Br English) - What did you order for your entrée?

fast food (noun): quickly served food like burgers, French fries, fried chicken, etc. - I only get fast food if I don't have time to cook.

flavour (or flavor in US spelling) (noun): the taste of food or drink - Japanese people think how food looks is as important as the flavour.

fry (verb): to cook something in hot oil or fat - Heat oil in a pan and fry the chopped onions for five minutes.

grain (noun): seeds used as food like wheat, rice, lentils, etc. - Grains like wheat and rye are used to make different kinds of bread.

grill (verb): to cook something just above or below a heat source - Grilling a fish is better than frying it.

heart disease (noun): disease caused by damage to the heart or nearby blood vessels - Eating fatty food increases your risk of developing heart disease.

ingredients (noun): all the foods used to make a dish or meal - What ingredients do we need to make spaghetti sauce?

junk food (noun): foods and food products that are unhealthy because of all the fat, salt or sugar they contain - People who love junk food soon get fat and unhealthy.

kitchenware (noun): things used for preparing food like knives, spoons, pots, dishes, etc. - Our kitchen cupboards are full of kitchenware we hardly ever use.

menu (noun): the list of foods and drinks served in a restaurant, café, pub, etc. - Let's check the menu before deciding whether to eat here.

nutritious (adjective): having nourishing substances we need in order to be healthy - Thai food's nutritious as well as being delicious.

obesity (noun): the unhealthy condition of being very fat or overweight - Obesity wasn't a serious problem here until Western companies opened fast food outlets.

poultry (noun): Birds that people eat, like chickens, ducks, geese, etc - Factory farms keep poultry in tiny cages and the birds never see the outside world.

recipe (noun): instructions for cooking a dish or a meal - My mum has a great recipe for chocolate pudding.

seafood (noun): anything from the sea that can be eaten - If you eat vegetarian food plus fish and seafood, but not meat or poultry, you're a pescetarian.

tableware (noun): things used for serving or eating a meal such as knives, forks, plates, glasses, etc. - Most of our wedding gifts were tableware of one sort or another.

tasteless (adjective): having very little flavour - Vegetarian food can be a bit tasteless, but it can also be really delicious.

tasty (adjective): having a good taste; delicious - Bob thinks Indian food is tastier than Chinese food.

VEGETABLES

artichoke

asparagus

beetroot

bell pepper or capsicum

broccoli

Brussels sprouts

cabbage

carrot

cauliflower

celery

cucumber

eggplant

garlic

lettuce

mushrooms

onion

peas

potato

pumpkin

spinach

string beans or green beans

turnip

yam

zucchini

bulb (noun): a round underground part of certain plants like onion and garlic plants - Lots of flowers like tulips and daffodils are grown from bulbs.

greens (noun): green vegetables - Mum says we have to eat our greens before we have dessert.

leaf vegetable (noun): a leaf or leafy plant that's eaten as a vegetable, like spinach - There are hundreds of leaf vegetables in Africa that we've never heard of.

legume (noun): a seed that grows in a pod, like a pea or bean - A healthy diet includes lots of legumes.

raw (adjective): not cooked - Some people think cooking destroys vitamins so they eat lots of raw food.

root vegetable (noun): a vegetable that grows under the ground, like potato and carrot - If root vegetables aren't harvested in time, they can rot in the ground.

salad vegetable (noun): a vegetable that's often used in salads - All the salad vegetables are in the same part of the supermarket.

vegetable (noun): part of a plant that can be cooked and eaten with a main course - The more fruit and vegetables we eat, the healthier we'll be.

FRUITS

apple

apricot

avocado

banana

blackberry

cantaloupe or rockmelon or muskmelon

cherry

fig

grapes

green olive

kiwifruit or kiwi or Chinese gooseberry

lemon

lime

mango

mangosteen

orange

papaya or pawpaw

peach

pineapple

plum

raisins

strawberry

tomato

watermelon

berry (noun): any small juicy fruit with many tiny seeds like berries - We went out to pick berries, but we ate them all on the way home.

citrus fruit (noun): a fruit with lots of Vitamin C like an orange or lemon - Sailors took citrus fruits on long voyages to make sure they got enough Vitamin C.

dried fruit (noun): fruit that's had water removed from it, like raisins - I like breakfast foods that have dried fruit in them, like muesli.

fruit (noun): part of a plant that has seeds or a stone and is eaten raw when ripe - People used to eat fresh fruit between meals, but these days they eat candy bars and donuts instead.

melon (noun): a large round fruit with a hard skin and soft flesh inside - There were many different melons at the market, so we got a watermelon and a cantaloupe.

stone fruit (also drupe) (noun): a fruit with soft flesh around a large stone, like a plum or peach. - Be careful if you're picking stone fruits because they can bruise if you drop them.

ripe (adjective): (of fruit only) ready to eat after growing to full size - If a papaya's still green, it isn't ripe yet, so wait until it turns yellow or orange.

temperate fruit (noun): any fruit that only grows in a cool or cold climate - Many temperate fruits like apples are hard, but most tropical fruits are soft.

tropical fruit (noun): any fruit that grows in a warm, tropical climate - My favourite tropical fruit is the durian. It tastes like heaven!

GRAINS, BEANS AND NUTS

almonds

black eyed peas

bread

breakfast cereal

cashew nuts

chestnuts

chickpeas

cocoa beans

coconut

coffee beans

corn or maize

flour

haricot beans or baked beans

legumes

lentils

lima beans

oatmeal with milk

peanuts

pinto beans

pistachios or pistachio nuts

rice (cooked)

tortilla

walnuts

wheat

bean (noun): an edible seed, often kidney-shaped, that grows in a seedpod - Mexicans eat lots of beans, especially red kidney beans.

breakfast cereal (or cereal) (noun): breakfast food made from roasted grain, esp. wheat, corn or oats - Pour some breakfast cereal into a bowl and then add some milk.

cereal (noun): 1. a plant that produces edible grain, like rice and wheat 2. breakfast cereal - Cereals are a good source of most types of vitamin B.

edible (adjective): safe and tasting good enough to eat - Some mushrooms are edible, but some are so poisonous they can kill you.

flour (noun): a powder made by grinding grain - Maria buys wheat and grinds it into flour herself.

grain (noun): seeds used as food, like wheat, rice and millet - Different grains are used to make different kinds of bread.

grind (verb): to crush something into tiny pieces - Corn flour is made by grinding grains of corn into a fine powder.

legume (noun): a plant with a seedpod containing beans or peas - Did you know that the peanut isn't really a nut? It's actually a legume.

nut (noun): a hard, dry fruit with seeds inside a hard, woody shell - Can you get a packet of mixed nuts from the store?

nutcracker (noun): a tool for breaking open the hard shells of nuts - You'll have to use a nutcracker to crack open those walnuts.

seedpod (also pod) (noun): the long structure of legumes in which several peas or beans grow - Before cooking beans they have to be removed from their seedpods.

MEAT AND POULTRY

bacon

beef spare ribs

beef topside

chicken

chicken breasts

drumsticks

chicken wings

diced goat meat

duck

fillet steak

ham on the bone or honey glazed ham

leg of lamb

liver

minced pork

mutton

ox tongue

ox heart

pork leg

rabbit

sausages

sliced ham

T-bone steak

tripe

turkey

bacon (noun): meat from the back or sides of a pig that's cured and sliced - We had bacon and eggs every morning when I was a kid.

beef (noun): meat from a cow, bull or ox - We're having roast beef and vegetables for dinner.

breast (noun): meat from the front of a bird - Who'd like another piece of chicken breast?

chop (noun): a small cut of meat, usually lamb or pork, from near the ribs - Could you get some pork chops from the supermarket, please?

cure (verb): to preserve meat by smoking, salting or drying - Ham and bacon can be cured by salting or smoking.

cut (noun): a piece of meat cut from a certain part of an animal - That butcher on High Street has the best cuts of beef.

dice (verb): to cut food into small cubes or square-shaped pieces - A steak and kidney pie contains diced meat and gravy.

drumstick (noun): a cooked chicken leg - Don't eat all the drumsticks!

free-range (adjective): (of poultry) free to live naturally outside instead of being kept inside a farm building - Make sure you get free-range eggs.

game (noun): 1. wild animals and birds hunted by people 2. meat from hunted animals and birds - The only places that serve game these days are expensive restaurants.

ham (noun): cured meat from a pig's upper leg, usually sliced - I'll have a ham sandwich, please.

lamb (noun): 1. a young sheep 2. meat from a young sheep - People have been eating lamb for thousands of years.

meat (noun): animal or bird flesh eaten as food - Jason quit eating meat, but he still eats fish and seafood.

mince (verb): to cut meat into tiny pieces, often with a machine called a mincer - If you get some minced beef I'll make hamburgers for dinner.

mutton (noun): meat from an adult sheep - David thinks they put mutton in the curry instead of lamb.

offal (noun): organs from an animal or bird eaten as food, like liver, heart and kidney - In the past everyone ate offal, but I've never tried it.

pork (noun): meat from a pig - Do you know which religions forbid the eating of pork?

poultry (noun): 1. birds kept for their meat or eggs 2. meat from these birds - We 

serve meat, fish and poultry, all with salad or vegetables.

sausage (noun): minced meat in a long tube of skin, usually fried - How many sausages are you taking to the barbecue?

slaughter (verb): to kill an animal for its meat - Have you ever seen animals being slaughtered in a slaughterhouse?

spare ribs (noun): a cut of pork or beef that contains rib bones - Last night I dreamed about eating spare ribs.

steak (noun): a thick slice of high-quality beef - I don't think steak and chips is a very healthy dinner for kids.

tripe (noun): the stomach of a sheep or cow eaten as food - My uncle likes tripe, but I think it's awful.

veal (noun): meat from a calf or young cow - I'll have the veal with garden vegetables, please.

FISH AND SEAFOOD

carp

caviar or sturgeon roe

cod

crab

crayfish

eel

fillets of snapper

lobster

mussels

octopus

oysters

periwinkles or winkles

prawn

salmon roe

salmon fillet

sardines in a can

scallop

shrimp

smoked fish

snapper

squid

trout

tuna

tuna steak

aquaculture (noun): the raising of fish and other aquatic animals for food - Aquaculture was invented by Aboriginal Australians long before agriculture developed.

canned (adjective): preserved in a metal can without air - You can use canned tuna to make tuna salad.

caviar (noun): the eggs of the sturgeon fish sold as an expensive food - Why do people think caviar is so special? It's just fish eggs.

crayfish (noun): a freshwater creature that looks like a small lobster - In Australia, people used to call lobsters "crayfish".

eel (noun): a long fish that looks like a snake - Eels are hard to hold because they're so slippery.

fillet (noun): one side of a fish with the bones taken out - It's easy to overcook salmon fillets, so be careful.

fish (noun): 1. an animal that lives and swims in water and breathes through gills 2. the flesh of these animals - I eat fish three or four times a week.

fish (verb): to catch fish with a fishing rod, a net or a spear - Let's go fishing next weekend.

lobster (noun): a sea creature with a hard shell, eight legs, two claws and eyes on long stalks - I ordered steamed lobster tails.

octopus (noun): a sea creature with a soft round body, no shell, and eight arms called tentacles - We shouldn't eat highly intelligent animals like octopuses.

oyster (noun): shellfish with a rough shell in which pearls can grow - Let's order a plate of oysters.

pickled (adjective): preserved in salt water or vinegar - Have you ever tried pickled herring?

prawn (noun): a sea creature with a thin shell and ten small legs - If you squeeze the tail of a prawn, the flesh comes out.

roe (noun): all the eggs inside a female fish - Roe are taken from many kinds of fish and eaten in many different ways.

sashimi (noun): a Japanese dish of raw fish eaten with soy sauce - The sashimi here is supposed to be really good.

seafood (noun): food from the sea, incl. fish, shellfish, fish eggs, etc. - This is my favourite seafood restaurant.

shellfish (noun): edible sea creatures with a shell, like lobsters and oysters - People living near the sea have always eaten shellfish.

squid (verb): a sea creature with a soft body, eight arms and two long tentacles - Do you know how to cook squid?

trawl (verb): to catch sea creatures, esp. fish, by pulling a large net behind a boat - If commercial trawling continues like this, there'll be no fish here in future

DAIRY FOODS

Brie soft cheese

butter

Camembert cheese

Cheddar cheese

condensed milk

cottage cheese

cream cheese as spread

double or thickened cream

Edam cheese

feta cheese

frozen yoghurt

gelato

ice-cream

milk

milk powder or powdered milk

Mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

processed cheese slices

Stilton blue cheese

ricotta cheese

Swiss cheese

wheel of Gouda cheese

whipped cream

yoghurt or yogurt

blue cheese (noun): cheese containing blue mould, such as Stilton and Danish Blue - What's that blue cheese on the cheese platter?

butter (noun): a solid, pale yellow dairy food made by churning cream - Oh no! We've run out of butter!

cheese (noun): a soft or hard food made from milk curds that's used in cooking or eaten on crackers, bread, etc. - The best cheeses are really expensive.

cooking cheese (noun): any cheese that's mostly used in cooking - If we're serving French food, we'll need some cooking cheese.

cottage cheese (noun): soft, lumpy white cheese made from skimmed milk curds - Would you like some cottage cheese in your sandwich?

cream (noun): thick, high-fat liquid from milk that's used in cooking and with desserts - We had fruit salad and fresh cream for dessert.

cream cheese (noun): a soft smooth white cheese with a very mild taste - We could have some crackers and cream cheese.

dairy foods (noun): milk and all the foods made from milk - All the dairy foods are up the back of the supermarket.

feta (noun): a soft white goat's milk cheese from Greece - I'm making a Greek spinach pie so I'll need some feta.

gelato (noun): Italian-style ice cream - I'd never tried gelato before I went to Italy.

infant formula or baby formula (noun): a processed baby food made with powdered milk - Is natural mother's milk better for babies than infant formula?

margarine (noun): a butter-like substance made from vegetable oils or animal fats - You don't like margarine more than butter, do you?

milk¹ (noun): 1. a natural liquid food that female mammals produce for their young 2. cow's milk - Do you have milk in your coffee?

milk² (verb): to get milk from a cow or other animal, either by hand or with a milking machine - We milk our cows every morning and evening.

mould¹ (also "mold" US spelling) (noun): a container that gives a solidifying liquid its final shape - They must use rectangular moulds to make their hard cheeses.

mould² (noun): tiny green, blue, or white fungi that can grow on or in certain foods - How much mould should a blue cheese have?

powdered milk (noun): a powder made from dried milk - Carrying powdered milk is better because it's lighter than milk.

processed cheese (noun): cheese made in a factory with many added chemicals - Why did you get processed cheese instead of real cheese?

skimmed milk (also US "skim milk") (noun): milk that's had the cream taken out of it - Skimmed milk has less fat than full cream milk.

Swiss cheese (noun): any semi-hard cheese with holes in it - Can you slice some Swiss cheese for the sandwiches?

table cheese (noun): any cheese that's meant to be served at table rather than used in cooking - Of all their table cheeses, the Jarlsberg is best.

yoghurt or yogurt (noun): a soft dairy food made by fermenting milk - My kids love those little containers of yoghurt with bits of fruit in them.

ALL THE NEXT VOCABULARIES ARE READY FR YOU IN THE NEXT LINKS ACCORDING TO WHAT YOU NEED THE MOST! JUST CLICK ON IT!!!

• COOKING VOCABULARY
• KITCHENS AND KITCHENWARE
• DINING VOCABULARY
• RESTAURANT VOCABULARY
• FOOD AND HEALTH VOCABULARY

AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT TYPES OF FOOD...

• BRITISH FOOD VOCABULARY
• CHINESE FOOD VOCABULARY
• FRENCH FOOD VOCABULARY
• INDIAN FOOD VOCABULARY
• ITALIAN FOOD VOCABULARY
• MEXICAN FOOD VOCABULARY
• THAI FOOD VOCABULARY