Tag Archives: words

Cooking Terms Translated

Cooking and Baking Terms Translated

Have you ever found a really interesting looking recipe that you really wanted to try then realized that it was written in a language not your own? We compiled some of the cooking and baking terms in Spanish translated to English. I hope these will help you with that difficult recipe so you can expand your cooking skills and try new recipes.

Here we have some cooking and baking terms. I’m sure there are many more but these are sure to help you when you try and follow a simple recipe.

a continuación – next
a punto de nieve – until stiff
agregue/agregar – add/ to add
al horno – baked
al gusto – to taste
albahaca – basil
albardilla – batter
amargo – bitter
amasada – mashed
añada/añadir – add/ to add
añadirlas – add
apagar – turn off
baje/ bajar – turn down/ to turn down

Cooking barbeque in a Fogón
Cooking barbeque in a Fogón

barbacoa – barbecue
batidora eléctrica – electric mixer
batir – to whisk
blanda – soft
caldo – broth
chaucha – vanilla bean
chorrito – dash
claras de huevo – egg whites
cocer al horno – bake
comedor – dining room
congelado – frozen
congelador – freezer
cortado en cuatro – quartered

cortar en cuadritos – dice
cuajar – curdle
cucharada – spoonful
cucharadita (cdta.) – teaspoon
cucharones – ladles
cuélelo – drain, sieve
derretida – melted
derrita/ derretir – melt/ to melt
deshebrar – to shred
dore/ dorar – brown/ to brown
enjuague/ enjuagar – rinse/ to rinse
entibiarse – room temperature
escaldar – scald
escoba – broom
escurrir – drain
espesar – to thicken

Cooking up some sweets outside.
Cooking up some sweets outside.

estofado – stew
exprimido/ exprimir – squeezed/ to squeeze
fregadero – kitchen sink
gabinete – cabinet
gaseosa – bubbly water
glasear – glaze
guarnición – garnish
hacer – puré
hasta que espese – until it gets thick
hervir – to boil
hervir – to simmer
hidratos de carbono – carbohydrates
hierba – herb
horno – oven
jengibre – ginger
jugoso – juicy
laurel – bay leaf
lavaplatos – dishwasher

libras – pounds
los demás – the rest
manteca vegetal – vegetable fat
mexcla/ mixclar – mix, mixture/ to mix
migas de pan – bread crumbs
mitad – half
molidas – crushed
molido – ground
nuez moscada – nutmeg
olla – saucepan, pot
papel de aluminio – aluminum foil
parrillada – barbecue
pedacitos – little bits, small pieces
pedazo grande – wedge
pelada/ pelar – peeled/ to peel
pequeños trozos – small pieces
perejil – parsley
pezado – piece
ponga/ poner – put/ to put
precalentar – to preheat
pulverizado – ground
punto de ebullición – boiling point
puré – puree
quemadas/ quemar – burnt/ burn
rallado – grated
rebanadas – slices
rellena – filled, stuffed
remojada – soaked
remover con energía – stir briskly

remover – to stir
revuelva – stir
rociando – basting
rodajas finas – thin slices
romero – rosemary
romper a hervir – to start boiling

A cooking tv show live in Parque Rosado
A cooking tv show live in Parque Rosado

saltear – sauté
sancochadas – boiled
sartén – frying pan
sazonar – season with salt
sazone/ sazonar – season/ to season
séquelos – dry them
siga removiendo – keep stirring
tapados/ tapar – covered/ to cover
taza para medir – measuring cup
taza – cup
yema – egg yolk

Dominican Towns & Taino Words

Dominican Towns & Taino Words

Taino Language Used Today | Funny Names Of Dominican Towns Translated

Many words that originated from the Native Taino Indian Tribes are still used today. These Taino words are still in use in Dominican Republic and throughout the World.

Have you ever wondered what the names of different towns and barrios around the Dominican Republic mean? Check it out, some can be quite funny.

Taino Language Used Today

The Taino Indians were some of the original inhabitants of the island of Hispaniola. When the Spanish arrived they adopted many of the indigenous peoples’ words into their own vocabulary. Many of these words are still used throughout the world today. Just think, you may have been speaking the Taino language and you didn’t even know it.

Taino art found in the Caribbean Sea
Taino art found in the Caribbean Sea

Arepa – corn tortilla or type of cornmeal bread or cake (Arepa recipe)
Barbacoa – a platform held aloft on legs. Used for many things but widely known to be a barbecue when it was used for cooking
Bohío – straw hut
Borinquen – land of the valiant, the Taino name for Puerto Rico
Boricua – people from Borinquen (Puerto Rico)
Hamaca – hammock
Huracán – hurricane
Cana – type of palm
Caiman – type of crocodile
Cacata – tarantula
Carey – sea turtle or tortoise
Cayo – small barren island
Cazabe – Cassaba bread (more info on cassava and yuca)
Chin – a small amount
Chinchilin – blackbird
Cibao – land within mountains
Cojoba – loose tobacco
Cocuyo – firefly or lightning bug (in Dominican legend cocuyos are known as Nimitas)
Fututo – horn made with a snail or conch shell
Guacara – a cave
Guaraguao – a kind of hawk that eats small animals
Guano – type of palm
Guay – expression of pain (in Dominican Spanish they say “Guay mi Mai”)
Higuaca – type of parrot
Hupia or Juipa – a spirit or ghost of the night
Iguana – big lizard
Jaiba – small crab

A cute little Jaiba Crab
A cute little Jaiba Crab

Lambi – conch meat
Licei – brave and daring (the name of the baseball team)
Mabi – very popular fermented beverage
Macana – a policeman’s stick (known as a Garrote in Spanish)
Macuto – a basket woven with palm or cane leaves
Manati – the sacred marine animal (more information of the Sirens)
Maní – peanuts
Maraca – musical instrument
Nagua (a city in DR) – breechcloth
Quisqueya – also spelled Kiskeya (it is the name given to this island by the natives) – mother of all lands
Sabana – large valley or plain
Sapo – type of frog
Tabacu’ – Tobacco
Tureyro – sky
Yarey – type of palm

Funny Names Of Dominican Towns Translated

Names of places and towns/ barrios, cities/ cuidads, and streets/ calles in Dominican Republic and their English translations.

Many times when you try to translate a word from any language to your own the idea is lost in the translation. Some words can end up to be quite funny when you use the literal English translations. Hope you get a little laugh as I did. Maybe when you come to visit you might want to pass through the towns named “The pool of flies” or “hanging dogs”.

Ahorca los Perros – Hanging Dogs
Bajos de Haina – Haina Downs
Bocacanasta – Basket Mouth
Castañuelas – Little Castanet Town
Castillo – Castle Town
Correa y Cidrón – Belt and Big Sider
Dajabón – Give Soap
El Aguacate Adentro – The Inside Avocado
El Cachón de la Rubia – The Blondie’s Big Crab
El Hoyo de Chulín – Little Gigolo’s hole
El Peñón – The Big Rock
Elias Piña – Elias Pineapple
Enriquillo – Little Henry
Esperanza – Hope City
Francisco Villaespesa – Frank Thick Village
Jacinto de la Concha – Jason of the Shell Street
Jobo Bonito – Cute Plum
Juana Saltitopa – Jane Jump and Touch Street
La Cañada del Diablo – The Devil’s Ravine
La Descubierta – The Discovered One
La Otra Banda – The Other Side
La Piscina de Moca – The Pool of Fly
Los Guandulitos – Little Slackers
Las Matas de Farfán – Pharpham’s Trees
Los Mameyes – The Orange Colors
Los Pepines – The Pickles
Los Tres Brazos – The Three Arms
Los Tres Ojos – The Three Eyes
Luis Cambiaso – Louis Big Change
Mano Guayabo – Guava Hand
Mata Barraco – Kill Pork
Matahambre – Kill Hunger
Monte Plata – Silver Mount
Mono Mojao – Wet Monkey
Padre Las Casas – Father the Houses
Sabana de la Mar – Sea Plain

Fishermen at Sabana de la Mar
Fishermen at Sabana de la Mar

Sabana Larga – Long Plain
Sabana Perdida – Lost Plain
Sabana Yegua – Mare Plain
Tamboril – Little Drums
Valverde – Green to Go
Villas Agrícolas – Farming Village
Villa Altagracia – High Thanks Village
Villa Consuelo – Consolation Village
Villa Faro – Lighthouse Village
Villa Francisca – Frances Village
Villa Juana – Jane Village

Y and Z-Dominican Food Dictionary

The Food of Dominican Republic / La Comida de República Dominicana

LETTERS Y and Z

    Y

Yuca

– (pronounced like Jew-ca) Cassave or cassava, a long tuber vegetable. Also known as yucca. More information about Yuca.

Wax covered yuca.
Wax covered yuca.

Yunyun

(frió frió) – Snow cone. Shaved ice with flavored liquid that is usually homemade local fruit flavors. More information about frió frió and yunyun here. or

    Z

Zanahorias

– Carrots

Zapote

– Tangy yet sweet fruit. It has a dull brown skin with sticky orange flesh and lots of fiber. This fruit makes a wonderful juice drink.

Zapote and Batida de Zapote
Zapote and Batida de Zapote