Spanish Food Vocabulary – learn from our mistakes!

When you’re learning a new language, one of the first things you learn is food vocabulary. Studying Spanish in Spain, we all need a basic understanding of what menus and signs in supermarkets mean. However, food can also be the area that leads to most misunderstandings! Last week, in order to relax after our morning of Spanish classes, the students at Spark went out to lunch in Puerto Sherry. It was a great restaurant, overlooking the beach. The only problem – I accidentaly ordered what turned out to be a large bowl of thick melted cheese! Now, I like cheese… but not on its own, and certainly not in such a large quantity. And then, during a trip to Cádiz at the weekend, our classmate Rachel ordered what she thought was caballo (horsemeat), only to discover that she had actually asked for caballa (mackerel)!

The words are similar… but they do NOT mean the same thing!

This got me thinking about just how important it is to understand what a menu means, and to know what you’re ordering! Like all good language students, I like to learn from my mistakes. So, here’s my list of vocabulary and explanations for understanding the menu in a Spanish restaurant

Typical Spanish dishes:

La paella	Spanish dish made of yellow rice, vegetables, peas and various types of seafood, typically including prawns/shrimp, mussels, cuttlefish.
La paella valenciana	Same as above but with meat (often chicken and chorizo) instead of seafood.
La paella mixta	Same as above, containing both seafood and meat.
El fideua	Similar to paella, but with noodles instead of rice
Las tapas (los pinxos)	A range of small dishes, typically containing seafood, meat or vegetable, often served with a drink.
El gazpacho	Spanish tomato soup, served cold.
Las patatas bravas	Fried potatoes, usually in cubes mixed with a sauce made of garlic, oil, mayonnaise, tomatoes and chilli peppers.
Un revuelto	Dish made of scrambled eggs, usually with another ingredient.
Una tortilla española	Spanish omelette – contains potatoes and onions.
El arroz negro	Black rice – rice cooked with squid and squid ink.
El chorizo
Los churros	Long sticks of pastry, usually served with sugar and chocolate
Los pinchitos	Andalucían dish consisting of cubes of pork threaded onto skewers
El jamón serrano	Serrano ham – a type of ham usually served raw in very thin slices, often with bread or vegetables.

Paella Valenciana (front) y Paella Mixta (back)

Reading a menu:

La Entrada / El Primer Plato	Starter
El Plato Principal	Main Course
Platos Fríos	Cold Dishes
Platos Calientes	Hot Dishes
La ensalada	Salad
El postre	Dessert
A la parrilla	Grilled
Frito (Frita/Fritos/Fritas)	Fried
Al horno	Oven-baked
A la brasa	Barbecued
A la plancha	Cooked on a metal plate
Asado	Roast

Meat and poultry:

La carne	Meat
El pollo	Chicken
Una chuleta (de cerdo)	A (pork) chop
El cordero	Lamb
Un biftec	Steak
Una hamburguesa	Hamburger
El jamón	Ham
La ternera	Beef / veal
La carne de caballo	Horsemeat

Pollo asado – Roast Chicken

Seafood:

Los mariscos	Seafood
El pescado	Fish
Las gambas	Prawns
La caballa	Mackerel
El cangrejo	Crab
Los camarones	Shrimp
Los mejillones	Mussels
El choco	Cuttlefish
El bacalao	Cod
El salmón	Salmon
Los anchoas	Anchovies
La langosta	Lobster
El langostino	Crayfish
El pulpo	Octopus
Los ostiones	Oysters

Vegetables:

La lechuga	Lettuce
La zanahoria	Carrot
La cebolla	Onion
El maíz	Corn
La col	Cabbage
Los pimientos (rojo/verde/amarillo)	Pepper (Red/Green/Yellow)
El tomate	Tomato
La alcachofa	Artichoke
Las judías	Green beans
Las habichuelas	Beans
El espárrago	Asparagus
El apio	Celery
El pepino	Cucumber
El ajo	Garlic
El champiñon	Mushroom
El aceituna	Olive
Los guisantes	Peas
La calabaza	Squash/Pumpkin

Carrots – Las Zanahorias

Cheese:

El queso	Cheese
El manchego	Cheese from La Mancha, made from sheep’s milk
El provolone	Cheese from Provolone in Italy
Parmesano	Parmesan
El queso feta	Feta cheese
El queso de bola	Edam cheese