310 Spanish food words

Spanish plate of mojama
Mojama (Spanish salt-cured tuna)
You traveled to Spain for the holidays. You are at a Spanish Restaurant, trying to remember what is the Spanish word for “salt-cured ham”, but you can hardly remember even how to say “fork”. Too bad, Spanish cuisine is world renowned and you end up ordering “meat and potatoes” 🙁

Never again! Here you have all the Spanish food vocabulary your stomach will ever need, dished out in digestible chunks!

I’m using here the following color codes:

  • blue background = basic (most frequent) words; gray background = less frequent words.
  • red letters = mostly Latin American variant; green letters = mostly Spaniard variant (not strictly, but merely orientative).

 

Fruit (fruta)

orange naranja
lemon el limón
apple manzana
pear pera
banana banana, plátano
coconut coco
pineapple el ananá, el ananás, la piña
watermelon sandía
melon la patilla, el melón
grape uva
plum ciruela
peach el durazno, el melocotón
strawberry frutilla, fresa

 

blackberry mora
raspberry frambuesa
blueberry arándano azul, arándano
cranberry arándano rojo
prune, dried plum ciruela pasa
raisin, dried grape pasa, uva pasa
fig higo
mandarin mandarina
lime lima (*)
grapefruit pomelo, toronja
kiwifruit el kiwi
apricot el albaricoque
cherry cereza
quince membrillo
cherimoya chirimoya
persimmon el caqui
mango mango
papaya papaya
passion fruit el maracuyá

 

* In some countries, such as Mexico, “lime” is translated as limón, and “lemon” as lima.

 

Vegetables (verdura)

 

lettuce lechuga
tomato el tomate
pepper pimiento
potato patata
onion cebolla
garlic ajo
carrot zanahoria
legume la legumbre
pea arveja, el guisante
bean poroto, el frijol, habichuela, judía
lentil lenteja
chickpea garbanzo
avocado palta, el aguacate
eggplant, aubergine berenjena
cucumber pepino
asparagus espárrago
spinach espinaca
(edible) mushroom seta (comestible), el champiñón
common mushroom,
button mushroom
champiñón común, champiñón
de París, champiñón

 

french fries patatas fritas
mashed potatoes el puré de patatas/papas
soybean grano/semilla de soja/soya
olive aceituna
cabbage col, repollo
cauliflower la coliflor
squash, marrow calabaza
zucchini, courgette el calabacín
turnip nabo
carob algarroba
radish rábano
leek puerro
celery apio
beet remolacha
sweet potato batata, boniato
brussels sprout la col de Bruselas
collard greens berza
endive endivia, escarola
kale col rizada, col verde
artichoke el alcaucil, alcachofa
broccoli el brócoli, el brécol
ginger el jengibre

 

Nuts and cereals (frutos secos* y cereales)

 

peanut el maní, el cacahuate,
el cacahuete
walnut la nuez
chestnut castaña
hazelnut avellana
almond almendra
wheat trigo
rice el arroz
maize, corn el maíz
oats avena
bread el pan
pasta pasta
noodle fideo

 

whole-grain bread pan integral
bread crumbs pan rallado
cashew el marañón, anacardo
pistachio pistacho
pine nut el piñón
barley cebada
rye centeno
corn flakes hojuelas/copos de maíz
popcorn el pororó, rosetas/palomitas de maíz
rolled oats avena arrollada, copos de avena
puffed rice arroz inflado
flour harina
macaroni noodle el macarrón
spaghetti el espagueti
lasagne lasaña

 

* The Spanish term fruto seco sometimes includes also dried fruits, such as prunes, raisins, etc.

 

Dairy and eggs (lácteos y huevos)

 

milk la leche
butter mantequilla
cheese queso
yogurt el yogur
egg huevo
omelette tortilla (francesa)

 

scrambled eggs huevos revueltos, revuelto de huevo
skimmed milk leche desnatada/descremada
semi skimmed milk leche semidesnatada/semidescremada
whole milk leche entera
dairy cow vaca lechera
cheese slices queso en lonchas
egg white clara de huevo
egg yolk yema de huevo

 

Oil and fats (aceite y grasas)

 

olive oil el aceite de oliva
sunflower oil aceite de girasol
soybean oil aceite de soja
vegetable oil aceite vegetal
peanut butter mantequilla de cacahuete/maní
margarine margarina
tallow sebo
lard manteca de cerdo

Fish and meat (pescado y carne)

meat la carne
steak el filete
chop chuleta
pork chancho, cerdo
ham el jamón
beef carne de vacuno
lamb cordero
veal ternera
chicken pollo
turkey pavo
sausage salchicha
meatball albóndiga
hamburger hamburguesa
breast pechuga
liver hígado
shellfish marisco
oyster ostras
clams almejas
shrimp, prawn gamba, langostino
crab cangrejo
swordfish el pez espada
tuna el atún
herring el arenque
cod bacalao
anchovy anchoa
sardine sardina
mackerel macarela, caballa
salmon el salmón
trout trucha

 

duck pato
rabbit conejo
hare la liebre
poultry carne de ave
venison carne de venado
fish farm piscifactoría
whitefish pescado blanco
oily fish pescado azul, pescado graso
cold cut el fiambre
meatloaf el pastel de carne
roast beef el rosbif
fish sticks, fish fingers palitos de pescado
dry-cured Spanish ham el jamón serrano
clawed lobster el bogavante, el lubigante, cigala…
spiny lobster langosta
hake merluza
eel anguila
turbot rodaballo

 

Condiments (condimentos)

 

to season sazonar, condimentar
sauce salsa
spice especia
mayonnaise mayonesa, mahonesa
mustard mostaza
ketchup el kétchup, cátsup, cátchup
salt la sal
pepper pimienta
cinnamon canela
oregano orégano
mint mastranto, menta
anis, asiseed el anís

 

paprika el pimentón
bay leaf, laurel el laurel
spearmint hierbabuena
sesame sésamo, el ajonjolí
clove clavo
cumin comino
nutmeg la nuez moscada
basil albahaca

 

Sweets and sweeteners (dulces y endulzantes/edulcorantes)

 

sweeten endulzar, edulcorar
honey la miel
sugar el azúcar
confectionery golosinas, los dulces
cake torta, tarta, el pastel
pancake el panqueque, tortita
marmalade, jam mermelada
ring-shaped doughnut rosquilla
cookie galleta
ice cream helado
chocolate el chocolate
bonbon, chocolate candy el bombón
caramel caramelo
candy caramelo

 

chewing gum el chicle, goma de mascar
brown sugar azúcar moreno
saccharin sacarina
syrup el sirope
viennoiserie facturas, bollería
waffle el waffle (pronounced /waf-leh/),
el gofre
cocoa powder cacao en polvo
marzipan el mazapán
lollipop piruleta (flat candy),
el chupa-chups (ball-shaped candy)
liquorice caramelo de regaliz, el regaliz

 

Bebida (drink, beverage)

 

coffee el café
tea el té (*)
juice jugo, zumo
milkshake batida, batido
wine vino
beer cerveza

 

mineral water agua mineral
soy milk leche de soja
infusion la infusión
chamomile manzanilla, camomila
carbonated beverage,
soft drink
gaseosa, refresco
white wine vino blanco
red wine vino tinto
ice cube cubito de hielo

 

* Note that the accent mark distinguishes the noun from the pronoun te.

 

Cooking

 

kitchen cocina
cooking, cookery cocina
to cook cocinar
to boil cocer
barbecue barbacoa
grilled, barbecued a la parrilla, a la brasa
griddled, pan grilled a la plancha
to fry freír
fried frito
oven horno
bake hornear
to peel pelar, mondar
cooking pot cazuela, cacerola, olla
frying pan la sartén

 

to dice cortar en dados/tacos
spoonful cucharada
tablespoonful cucharada sopera
pressure cooker olla a presión, olla express
microwave oven horno (de) microondas
to simmer cocer a fuego lento
to poach escalfar
steam cocer al vapor
to smoke (meat, fish…) ahumar
roast asar
broil asar
cure curar
garnish la guarnición
stuffed relleno
ferment fermentar

 

General food related words

 

eat comer
drink beber
food alimento, comida
meal comida
breakfast desayuno
to have (for) breakfast desayunar
lunch almuerzo
to lunch almorzar
tea time, afternoon snack merienda
to have (for) merienda merendar
supper cena
to have (for) supper cenar
dessert el postre
snack aperitivo
to toast tostar
toast tostada
soup sopa
spoon cuchara
teaspoon cucharilla
fork tenedor
knife cuchillo
plate plato
dish plato
course (of a meal) plato
napkin servilleta
salty salado
sweet dulce
bitter amargo

 

edible comestible
recipe receta
cutlery cubertería
kitchen knife cuchillo de cocina
serrated knife cuchillo de sierra
sour ácido, agrio (milk, etc.)
nutritious nutritivo
tasteless insípido

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