Cooking instructions use a relatively small group of verbs again and again. You will use some to prepare ingredients and others to describe how food is cooked.
Knowing the difference between couper, trancher, and hacher, for example, tells you whether to cut something generally, into slices, or into small pieces.
Preparing ingredients
These verbs cover many of the actions you perform before and while cooking:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| laver | to wash |
| éplucher | to peel |
| couper | to cut |
| trancher | to slice |
| hacher | to chop / mince |
| râper | to grate |
| mélanger | to mix |
| remuer | to stir |
| battre | to beat |
| ajouter | to add |
| verser | to pour |
Couper is the general verb for cutting. Trancher means to cut into slices, while hacher means to cut into small pieces.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| couper les légumes | to cut the vegetables |
| trancher le pain | to slice the bread |
| hacher l'ail | to chop the garlic |
Battre means "to beat" when cooking, as in battre les œufs. You can also mélanger ingredients, remuer a sauce, or verser a liquid into a bowl or pan.
Many of these actions connect naturally with the equipment from In the kitchen. You râpez with une râpe and épluchez with un éplucheur.
Cooking food
Cuire is the general verb for cooking. Other verbs tell you how the food is cooked:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| cuire | to cook |
| faire cuire | to cook |
| faire bouillir | to boil |
| mijoter | to simmer / cook slowly |
| frire | to fry |
| griller | to grill |
| rôtir | to roast |
| chauffer | to heat |
| réchauffer | to reheat |
| préchauffer | to preheat |
Both cuire and faire cuire are common. For example:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| cuire les légumes | to cook the vegetables |
| faire cuire les pommes de terre | to cook the potatoes |
| faire bouillir de l'eau | to boil water |
| laisser mijoter la sauce | to let the sauce simmer |
Mijoter means to cook slowly over low heat. You will encounter it with foods such as soups, sauces, and stews.
Chauffer, réchauffer, and préchauffer are related but describe different actions. Chauffer means to heat, réchauffer to heat again or reheat, and préchauffer to heat something in advance.
Describing how food is cooked
The cooking verb can also help you understand descriptions of prepared food:
| Verb | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| griller | grillé / grillée | du poisson grillé |
| rôtir | rôti / rôtie | un poulet rôti |
| frire | frit / frite | des pommes de terre frites |
The ending changes to agree with the noun. This is why you see grillé with masculine poisson, rôtie with feminine viande, or frites with plural feminine pommes de terre.
French also uses expressions that tell you where or how something is cooked:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| au four | in the oven / baked |
| à la poêle | in a frying pan / pan-fried |
| à la vapeur | steamed |
| à l'eau | cooked in water |
These expressions can follow the food directly:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| des légumes à la vapeur | steamed vegetables |
| des pommes de terre au four | baked potatoes |
| du poisson à la poêle | pan-fried fish |
You will encounter these descriptions on menus as well as in recipes.
Heat and temperature
French recipes use feu when they tell you how much heat to use on the stove:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| à feu doux | over low heat |
| à feu moyen | over medium heat |
| à feu vif | over high heat |
| porter à ébullition | bring to a boil |
| faire bouillir | boil |
| laisser mijoter | leave to simmer |
| préchauffer le four | preheat the oven |
| laisser refroidir | leave to cool |
Feu normally means "fire", but à feu doux, à feu moyen, and à feu vif are also used when cooking on an electric stove.
Letting something cook
Recipes often use laisser followed by another verb:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| laisser mijoter | to let simmer |
| laisser cuire | to let cook |
| laisser refroidir | to let cool |
This pattern tells you to leave something in a particular state or allow an action to continue.
Following cooking instructions
In recipes, these verbs often appear as commands rather than in their infinitive form. For regular -er verbs, the vous command has the familiar -ez ending:
| Infinitive | Instruction | English |
|---|---|---|
| couper | Coupez les légumes. | Cut the vegetables. |
| hacher | Hachez l'ail et les oignons. | Chop the garlic and onions. |
| ajouter | Ajoutez le beurre. | Add the butter. |
| mélanger | Mélangez les ingrédients. | Mix the ingredients. |
| verser | Versez la sauce dans la casserole. | Pour the sauce into the saucepan. |
Other verbs have different forms:
| Infinitive | Instruction | English |
|---|---|---|
| faire cuire | Faites cuire pendant vingt minutes. | Cook for twenty minutes. |
| laisser mijoter | Laissez mijoter à feu doux. | Let simmer over low heat. |
| servir | Servez chaud. | Serve hot. |
You do not need to learn these as separate cooking verbs. Coupez comes from couper, ajoutez from ajouter, and faites from faire. Recognizing the underlying verb helps you understand the instruction.
For more practice putting actions, ingredients, quantities, time, and heat together, see Reading recipes.
From learning to practice
As you cook, try describing what you are doing in French: couper les légumes, faire bouillir l'eau, mélanger les ingrédients. Connecting the verb with the action you are actually performing can help you remember it.