Kitchen Utensils Vocabulary in English

Q: What is the difference between a sieve and a colander?

A colander has larger holes for draining liquids from pasta or vegetables. A sieve has a finer mesh for straining smaller particles or sifting dry ingredients like flour.

Q: What is the difference between a frying pan, a skillet, and a wok?

A frying pan is a general-purpose flat pan. A skillet is a cast-iron frying pan for high-heat searing. A wok has a round bottom and high sides for stir-frying.

Q: What is the difference between a spatula and tongs?

A spatula is a flat tool for lifting or sliding under food. Tongs grip food from the sides for turning or serving.

Q: Do you always say 'mortar and pestle' in that order?

Yes. The conventional phrase is always mortar and pestle — never pestle and mortar. The mortar is the bowl and the pestle is the grinding tool.

Q: What is the difference between a saucepan and a frying pan?

A saucepan is deep with high sides — ideal for boiling and simmering. A frying pan is shallow and wide — ideal for frying and sautéing.

Q: What is a baking tray called in American English?

In American English, a baking tray is called a baking sheet or sheet pan. A rimmed version is called a rimmed baking sheet.

Q: Is a grater the same as a zester?

Not exactly. A grater shreds cheese and vegetables. A zester removes the outer zest of citrus fruits. Most box graters include a fine surface that can be used for zesting.

Q: What is the difference between a cleaver and a chef's knife?

A chef's knife is versatile for most cutting tasks. A cleaver is heavier and designed for chopping through bones and thick meat.

Q: Does kitchen vocabulary appear in IELTS Listening?

Yes. IELTS Listening Section 1 often features practical domestic conversations. Knowing words like colander, ladle, rolling pin, and baking tray helps with identification in listening passages.

Q: What is the best way to learn kitchen utensil vocabulary?

Follow an English-language recipe or watch a cooking video. When you use each utensil, say its name aloud in English. Use Flash Cards for recall and describe each tool's function in your own words.

20 essential kitchen tool and utensil names with definitions and example sentences — perfect for A2–B1 learners, home cooks, and anyone reading English recipes.

Knowing the names of kitchen utensils and cooking equipment in English is extremely practical — especially if you follow English-language recipes, watch cooking shows, or work in a food service environment. Kitchen vocabulary is also common in IELTS Listening Section 1, which often features conversations in everyday domestic settings.

This page covers 20 essential kitchen utensils — the tools you find in a well-equipped kitchen. These words are different from our Cooking & Kitchen vocabulary page, which focuses on cooking verbs and methods. Here the focus is on the physical tools themselves — what they look like and what they are used for.

Many of these words are concrete nouns that are easy to visualise and remember, making this set ideal for A2 learners expanding their household vocabulary. For advanced learners, this topic provides useful vocabulary for the IELTS Speaking test when describing domestic routines, preferences, or cultural cooking practices.

Word List

Item	What It Is / What It Does	Example Sentence
spatula	a flat tool used for lifting, turning, or spreading food	Use a spatula to flip the pancakes without breaking them.
whisk	a tool with wire loops used for beating eggs or mixing liquids	Whisk the eggs and cream together until smooth.
colander	a bowl with holes used for draining water from pasta or vegetables	Pour the cooked pasta into a colander to drain it.
grater	a tool with a rough surface used to shred cheese, vegetables, or citrus zest	Use the grater to add some parmesan to the pasta.
ladle	a large deep spoon with a long handle used for serving soup or stew	She used a ladle to serve the soup into bowls.
tongs	a gripping tool with two arms used to pick up and turn food	Use tongs to turn the chicken on the barbecue.
peeler	a small tool used for removing the skin from vegetables and fruit	Peel the potatoes with a peeler before boiling them.
sieve	a mesh tool used for straining liquids or sifting dry ingredients	Sift the flour through a sieve to remove lumps.
chopping board	a flat board used as a surface for cutting food safely	Always use a chopping board when cutting vegetables.
frying pan	a shallow, flat pan used for frying food on a hob	Heat oil in a frying pan before adding the onions.
saucepan	a deep pan with a handle used for boiling or simmering food	Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan.
oven mitt	an insulated glove used to protect hands when handling hot pans	Always wear an oven mitt when removing trays from the oven.
rolling pin	a cylindrical tool used for flattening dough	Roll the pastry flat with a rolling pin.
baking tray	a flat metal sheet used for baking biscuits, roasting vegetables, or cooking in the oven	Line the baking tray with baking paper before adding the cookies.
measuring cup	a cup marked with volume measurements used for precise cooking	Use a measuring cup to add exactly 250ml of milk.
mortar	the bowl-shaped vessel used with a pestle to crush spices and ingredients	Grind the spices in a mortar until they form a fine powder.
pestle	the club-shaped tool used to grind ingredients inside a mortar	Use the pestle to crush the garlic cloves.
skillet	a cast-iron or heavy frying pan used for high-heat cooking	Sear the steak in a hot skillet for two minutes each side.
wok	a round-bottomed pan used in Asian cooking for stir-frying over high heat	Heat the wok until smoking before adding the vegetables.
cleaver	a large, heavy knife used for chopping through meat and bone	The chef used a cleaver to split the whole chicken.

Practice with These Exercises

Flash Cards

Review kitchen utensil names with spaced repetition

Wordsearch

Find kitchen utensil words in the grid

Anagram

Unscramble kitchen tool vocabulary letters

Hangman

Guess the kitchen utensil letter by letter

Practice What You've Learned

LexFizz has 30 free interactive exercises — no sign-up needed.

Browse All Exercises →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a sieve and a colander?

Both have holes, but they serve different purposes. A colander has larger holes and is used for draining liquids from cooked foods like pasta or vegetables. A sieve has a finer mesh and is used for straining smaller particles from liquids or for sifting dry ingredients like flour. In everyday conversation the terms are sometimes confused, but in recipe writing they are distinct.

What is the difference between a frying pan, a skillet, and a wok?

A frying pan is a general-purpose flat pan used on a hob. A skillet is a type of frying pan — typically made of cast iron — designed for high-heat searing and can go from hob to oven. A wok has a round bottom and high sides, designed for the rapid high-heat stir-frying method used in East Asian cooking. All three are used for frying, but they suit different techniques.

What is the difference between a spatula and tongs?

A spatula is a flat tool used for lifting or sliding under food — ideal for flipping pancakes, burgers, or fish. Tongs have two arms that grip food from the sides — ideal for turning meat on a grill, tossing salad, or serving pasta. Both are essential kitchen tools, but they work differently and are suited to different tasks.

Do you always say "mortar and pestle" in that order?

Yes. In English, the conventional phrase is always mortar and pestle — never pestle and mortar. The mortar is the bowl and the pestle is the grinding tool. This word order is fixed as a set phrase. Example: "Grind the spices in a mortar and pestle." Both words are often used together in cooking contexts and recipe instructions.

What is the difference between a saucepan and a frying pan?

A saucepan is deep with high sides and typically a long handle and sometimes a lid — ideal for boiling, simmering, and making sauces. A frying pan is shallow and wide — ideal for frying and sautéing. Both sit on a hob. For soups, stocks, and pasta cooking, a saucepan is essential; for frying eggs or vegetables, a frying pan is more appropriate.

What is a baking tray called in American English?

In American English, a baking tray is usually called a baking sheet or sheet pan. In British English, baking tray is the standard term. A slightly deeper variant (with raised edges on all sides) is called a roasting tin in British English or a rimmed baking sheet in American English. Recipe books use these terms differently depending on the country of publication.

Is a grater the same as a zester?

Not exactly. A grater has multiple coarse surfaces for shredding cheese, carrots, or other foods. A zester is a more specialised tool with small, sharp holes specifically designed to remove the outer coloured layer (zest) of citrus fruits. Most box graters include a fine-grating surface that can be used for zesting, so the two functions often overlap in home cooking.

What is the difference between a cleaver and a chef's knife?

A chef's knife is a versatile, medium-weight knife used for most cutting tasks — chopping vegetables, slicing meat, and mincing herbs. A cleaver is much heavier and wider, designed specifically for chopping through bones and thick cuts of meat. In professional and Chinese cooking, cleavers are used for a wider range of tasks, but in home kitchens a chef's knife is the standard all-purpose tool.

Does kitchen vocabulary appear in IELTS Listening?

Yes. IELTS Listening Section 1 often features everyday conversations in domestic and practical settings — shopping for kitchen equipment, following a recipe, or describing a cooking class. Knowing words like colander, ladle, rolling pin, and baking tray helps you identify items when heard in a listening passage and avoid confusion between similar-sounding words.

What is the best way to learn kitchen utensil vocabulary in English?

The most effective method is to learn these words in context by following an English-language recipe or watching an English cooking video. When you see or use each utensil, say its name aloud in English. Use Flash Cards on this page to reinforce recall, and try describing what each tool does in your own words — this active production helps fix the vocabulary in memory.