German Cooking & Preparing Food Vocabulary
This set covers the vocabulary of a working kitchen: the actions (kochen, backen, braten) and the things you do to food before and after it hits the pan (portionieren, tränken, durchsieben). One trap here is die Nudel \u2013 in German it's usually plural, die Nudeln, since you almost never cook just one noodle, and singular die Nudel can even mean "idiot" in slang.
Learn these 33 words
Spaced-repetition flashcards, straight in your browser. No sign-up, no install — the same review ladder Anki uses, on the words above.
All 33 words
- grillenA1
grill, barbecue
Heute grillen wir im Garten. — Today we're grilling in the garden.
- kochenA1
cook
Herr Georgi kann gut kochen. — Mr. Georgi can cook well.
french fries
Die Kinder essen Hähnchen mit Pommes frites. — The children eat chicken with french fries.
rice
Ich esse gern Reis. — I like to eat rice.
- backenA2
to bake
Wenn du kommst, backe ich einen Kuchen. — When you come, I'll bake a cake.
- bratenA2
fry, roast
Braten Sie das Fleisch in etwas Öl! — Fry the meat in some oil!
plural: die Nudeln
pasta, noodle
Möchten Sie lieber Reis oder Nudeln? – Lieber Nudeln, bitte. — Would you prefer rice or noodles? – Noodles, please.
plural: die Rezepte
recipe
Dieser Kuchen schmeckt super! Kannst du mir bitte das Rezept geben? — This cake tastes great! Can you please give me the recipe?
plural: die Suppen
soup
Schmeckt dir die Suppe? — Do you like the soup?
wash dishes
Ich muss noch das Geschirr abwaschen. — I still have to wash the dishes.
grill
Heute wollen wir im Garten grillieren. — Today we want to grill in the garden.
flour
Ich möchte einen Kuchen backen. Ist noch genug Mehl da? — I want to bake a cake. Is there enough flour left?
- mischenB1
mix
Ich möchte ein gemischtes Eis mit Sahne. — I would like mixed ice cream with whipped cream.
steep tea
Diesen Tee sollte man 10 Minuten ziehen lassen. — This tea should be steeped for 10 minutes.
plural: die Zutaten
ingredients
Welche Zutaten braucht man für diesen Kuchen? — What ingredients do you need for this cake?
to sift through / sieve
Das Mehl muss man durchsieben, bevor man es verwendet. — The flour must be sifted before using it.
plural: die Geheimzutaten
a secret ingredient
Die Geheimzutat macht diesen Kuchen besonders lecker. — The secret ingredient makes this cake especially delicious.
to gulp down / gobble down
Bitte nicht so schnell hinunterschlingen! Kaue dein Essen. — Please don't gobble down so fast! Chew your food.
- mästenB2
to fatten / plump up
Der Bauer mästet die Schweine vor dem Winter. — The farmer fattens the pigs before winter.
to portion
Der Koch portioniert das Fleisch in gleiche Teile. — The chef portions the meat into equal parts.
tomato paste
Ich verwende Tomatenmark in der Sauce. — I use tomato paste in the sauce.
- tränkenB2
to soak / saturate / drench
Das Brot wird in Milch getränkt. — The bread is soaked in milk.
to dilute / thin out
Ich verdünne die dicke Soße mit Wasser. — I thin out the thick sauce with water.
plural: die Zutaten
ingredient
Die Zutat Salz darf in keinem Rezept fehlen. — The ingredient salt must not be missing from any recipe.
to enrich / fortify
Wir reichern das Mehl mit Vitaminen an. — We enrich the flour with vitamins.
- benetzenC1
to wet / moisten
Die Köchin benetzt das Fleisch mit Öl. — The cook moistens the meat with oil.
to salt (meat)
Der Metzger pökelt das Fleisch für die Wurst ein. — The butcher salts the meat for the sausage.
to whip up (e.g., food)
Die Köchin entfacht die Sahne zu Schaum. — The cook whips the cream into foam.
plural: die Mehlschwitzen
roux
Die Mehlschwitze ist die Basis für die Soße. — The roux is the base for the sauce.
plural: die Melanges
melange = a mixture / medley
Die Melange aus Spargel und Kartoffeln schmeckt köstlich. — The medley of asparagus and potatoes tastes delicious.
tallow
Talg wurde früher zum Kochen verwendet. — Tallow was used for cooking in the past.
to fold in
Heben Sie die Sahne vorsichtig unter den Teig. — Fold the cream carefully into the dough.
to grind up / crush
Die Körner werden zermahlen zu feinem Mehl. — The grains are ground into fine flour.
How to learn this set
Notice how many of these verbs are built from a simple root plus a prefix that changes the action: sieben becomes durchsieben (sift through), and the same durch- pattern shows up across German cooking verbs to mean "all the way through." Group braten, backen, kochen and grillen together and drill them by the cooking method they name, since German is stricter than English about which verb goes with which heat source \u2013 you braten in a pan, backen in an oven, kochen in water. For the nouns, learn der Reis, das Mehl and das Tomatenmark as a trio of pantry basics with three different genders, so you stop guessing "die" by default.
More Food & Drink word packs
Frequently asked questions
Is it grillen or grillieren in German?
Grillen is the standard word used across Germany. Grillieren is Swiss German – you'll hear it in Switzerland but it sounds odd or overly formal anywhere else.
What is the difference between die Zutat and die Geheimzutat?
Die Zutat just means a regular ingredient, like Mehl or Reis in a recipe. Die Geheimzutat is the one ingredient someone won't tell you about – the secret that makes their soup or sauce taste different.
Why is Pommes frites plural and what gender is it?
Pommes frites comes from French and is treated as a plural noun in German, so you always say die Pommes frites, never a singular form. In casual speech Germans often just say die Pommes and drop frites entirely.
Other popular word packs
Free to start · no credit card
Words fade fast — spaced reviews make them stick.
Based on Dr. Hermann Ebbinghaus · memory science, proven since 1885