Food Spelling Words | 50 Kitchen & Food Words

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Food & Kitchen Spelling Words

Food words are used every single day — but so many are misspelled! ‘Restaurant’ (not restarant), ‘vegetable’ (not vegitable), ‘chocolate’ (not choclate), ‘broccoli’ (not brocoli). These words come from French, Italian, and Latin, which is why they’re tricky!

This page covers 50 food and kitchen words that Indian students commonly misspell. From everyday words like ‘biscuit’ to fancy words like ‘hors d’oeuvres’ — master them all with our memory tricks!

🍽️ Everyday Food Words

restaurantrestarant ✗⭐⭐

RES-tuh-ront

Place to eat

💡 REST + AU + RANT

“Let’s eat at a restaurant.”

vegetablevegitable ✗⭐⭐

VEJ-tuh-bul

Plant food

💡 VEGET + ABLE (not VEGIT!)

“Eat your vegetables!”

chocolatechoclate ✗⭐⭐

CHOK-lut

Sweet treat

💡 CHOCO + LATE (O after CHOC!)

“I love chocolate cake.”

biscuitbiscut ✗⭐⭐

BIS-kit

A cookie/cracker

💡 BISC + UIT (French! UI inside!)

“Have a biscuit with chai.”

reciperecipee ✗⭐⭐

RES-ih-pee

Cooking instructions

💡 RECIPE = 3 syllables! RES-I-PE

“Mum’s recipe for dal.”

sandwichsandwitch ✗⭐

SAND-wich

Bread with filling

💡 SAND + WICH (not WITCH!)

“A cheese sandwich.”

breakfastbrekfast ✗⭐⭐

BREK-fust

Morning meal

💡 BREAK + FAST (break the fast!)

“Never skip breakfast.”

cerealserial ✗⭐⭐

SEER-ee-ul

Breakfast grain food

💡 CEREAL (food) ≠ SERIAL (series)

“Have cereal for breakfast.”

sugarshuger ✗⭐

SHUG-er

Sweet substance

💡 SUGAR — ends in AR not ER!

“Less sugar please.”

vinegarvineger ✗⭐⭐

VIN-uh-ger

Sour liquid

💡 VINEGAR — ends in AR!

“Add vinegar to chutney.”

🇮🇳 Indian Kitchen Words

turmerictumeric ✗⭐⭐

TUR-muh-rik

Yellow spice (haldi)

💡 TUR + MER + IC (don’t skip MER!)

“Add turmeric to the dal.”

cinnamoncinamon ✗⭐⭐

SIN-uh-mun

Sweet spice (dalchini)

💡 2 N’s! ciNNamon

“Cinnamon tea is delicious.”

cardamomcardamon ✗⭐⭐

KAR-duh-mum

Green spice (elaichi)

💡 CARDA + MOM (ends in MOM!)

“Add cardamom to kheer.”

coriandercorriander ✗⭐⭐

kor-ee-AN-der

Green herb (dhaniya)

💡 1 R! CORIANDER (not CORR!)

“Fresh coriander chutney.”

mustardmusterd ✗⭐

MUS-turd

Yellow sauce/seed (sarson)

💡 MUSTARD — ends in ARD!

“Mustard oil for cooking.”

lentillentile ✗⭐

LEN-til

Dal/pulse

💡 LENTIL — no E at end!

“Lentil soup is healthy.”

yoghurtyogurt ✗⭐⭐

YOG-urt

Curd (dahi)

💡 British: YOGHURT | US: YOGURT — both OK!

“Eat yoghurt daily.”

cauliflowercolliflower ✗⭐⭐

KOL-ih-flow-er

White vegetable (gobi)

💡 CAULI + FLOWER (not COLLI!)

“Cauliflower curry tonight.”

cucumbercocumber ✗⭐

KYOO-kum-ber

Green salad vegetable

💡 CU + CUMBER (not CO!)

“Cool cucumber raita.”

pomegranatepomegranite ✗⭐⭐

POM-uh-gran-it

Red fruit (anaar)

💡 POME + GRANATE (not GRANITE!)

“Pomegranate seeds are healthy.”

🎯 Tricky Food Words

broccolibrocoli ✗⭐⭐

BROK-uh-lee

Green vegetable

💡 2 C’s + 1 L: broCColi

“Eat your broccoli!”

spaghettispagetti ✗⭐⭐

spuh-GET-ee

Italian pasta

💡 GH inside! spaGHetti (Italian!)

“Spaghetti for dinner.”

mozzarellamozarella ✗⭐⭐⭐

mot-suh-REL-uh

Italian cheese

💡 2 Z’s + 2 L’s: moZZareLLa

“Mozzarella on pizza!”

doughnutdonut ✗⭐⭐

DOH-nut

Ring-shaped sweet

💡 DOUGH + NUT (British) or DONUT (US)

“A chocolate doughnut.”

raspberryrasberry ✗⭐⭐

RAZ-beh-ree

Red berry fruit

💡 P is silent! rasPberry

“Raspberry jam.”

strawberrystawberry ✗⭐

STRAW-beh-ree

Red fruit

💡 STRAW + BERRY (full ‘straw’!)

“Strawberry milkshake.”

lettuceletuce ✗⭐⭐

LET-iss

Salad leaf

💡 2 T’s! leTTuce

“Fresh lettuce salad.”

omeletteomlet ✗⭐⭐

OM-lit

Egg dish

💡 British: omelETTE (French!) | US: omelet

“A masala omelette.”

asparagusasperagus ✗⭐⭐

uh-SPAR-uh-gus

Green vegetable

💡 A + SPAR + AGUS

“Grilled asparagus.”

zucchinizuchini ✗⭐⭐

zoo-KEE-nee

Green squash

💡 2 C’s! zuCChini (Italian!)

“Zucchini noodles.”

👩‍🍳 Cooking & Kitchen Words

ingredientsingrediants ✗⭐⭐

in-GREE-dee-unts

Things needed for recipe

💡 INGREDI + ENTS (not ANTS!)

“List the ingredients.”

temperaturetemprature ✗⭐⭐

TEM-pruh-chur

Heat level

💡 TEMPER + A + TURE

“Set the temperature to 180°.”

refrigeratorrefridgerator ✗⭐⭐⭐

rih-FRIJ-uh-ray-tur

Fridge

💡 No D! reFRIGerator (not reFRIDGerator!)

“Store in the refrigerator.”

microwavemicorwave ✗⭐

MY-kroh-wayv

Heating appliance

💡 MICRO + WAVE

“Heat in the microwave.”

utensilsutensles ✗⭐⭐

yoo-TEN-sulz

Cooking tools

💡 UTENSILS — ends in ILS!

“Wash the utensils.”

spatulaspatchula ✗⭐⭐

SPAT-yoo-luh

Flat cooking tool

💡 SPATULA — no CH!

“Flip with a spatula.”

colandercalender ✗⭐⭐

KOL-un-der

Straining bowl

💡 COLANDER ≠ CALENDAR!

“Drain pasta in a colander.”

saucepansaucpan ✗⭐

SAWSS-pan

Cooking pot

💡 SAUCE + PAN

“Boil water in a saucepan.”

cuisinecusine ✗⭐⭐

kwih-ZEEN

Style of cooking

💡 CUI + SINE (French!)

“Indian cuisine is famous.”

appetizerappetiser ✗⭐⭐

AP-uh-ty-zer

Starter dish

💡 APPETITE + R → appetiZER (US) / appetiSER (UK)

“Samosa as an appetizer.”

✨ Fancy Food Words

croissantcrosant ✗⭐⭐⭐

kwah-SON

French pastry

💡 French! CROIS + SANT (T silent!)

“A butter croissant.”

cappuccinocapuccino ✗⭐⭐⭐

kap-uh-CHEE-noh

Coffee drink

💡 2P + 2C: caPPuCCino

“One cappuccino please.”

bruschettabrushetta ✗⭐⭐⭐

broo-SKET-ah

Italian toast

💡 Italian CH = K! bruSCHetta

“Tomato bruschetta.”

hors d’oeuvresorderves ✗⭐⭐⭐

or-DURVZ

Appetizer snacks

💡 French! Most letters silent!

“They served hors d’oeuvres.”

filetfillet ✗⭐⭐

fih-LAY

Boneless meat/fish

💡 French! T is silent: fiLET

“Chicken filet.”

sorbetsorbert ✗⭐⭐

sor-BAY

Frozen fruit dessert

💡 French! T is silent: sorBET

“Mango sorbet.”

buffetbuffay ✗⭐⭐

buh-FAY

Self-serve meal

💡 French! T is silent: buFFET

“A breakfast buffet.”

meringuemerang ✗⭐⭐⭐

muh-RANG

Whipped egg white dessert

💡 French! -UE silent: merINGUE

“Lemon meringue pie.”

soufflésuffle ✗⭐⭐⭐

soo-FLAY

Puffed baked dish

💡 French! 2F: souFFLé

“Chocolate soufflé.”

quichekeesh ✗⭐⭐⭐

KEESH

Egg/cheese pie

💡 French! QUI = KEE, CHE = SH!

“Spinach quiche.”

📐 5 Spelling Rules

French Food Words: Silent Final Letters

croissant (T silent), buffet (T silent), filet (T silent), sorbet (T silent). French endings are usually silent!

✅ croissant, buffet, filet, sorbet, soufflé, gourmet

Italian Food Words: Double Letters

broccoli (CC), spaghetti (GH,TT), mozzarella (ZZ,LL), cappuccino (PP,CC), zucchini (CC).

✅ broccoli, spaghetti, mozzarella, cappuccino, zucchini

Spice Words: Don’t Skip Syllables!

turmeric (not tumeric), cinnamon (2N), cardamom (ends MOM), coriander (1R).

✅ tur-mer-ic, cin-na-mon, car-da-mom, co-ri-an-der

-AR Endings in Kitchen Words

sugar, vinegar, mustard, colander — these kitchen words end in -AR or -ARD, not -ER.

✅ sugar, vinegar, mustard, colander (≠ calendar!)

CEREAL ≠ SERIAL!

Cereal (food) and serial (series) sound the same but are spelled differently! Cereal has EA like EAT.

✅ Cereal (breakfast food) vs Serial (TV series/number)

🐝 Spelling Quiz

1. Which is correct?

2. Which is correct?

3. Which is correct?

4. Which is correct?

5. Which is correct?

6. ‘Croissant’ — T is:

7. ‘Cappuccino’ has:

8. ‘Spaghetti’ has:

9. ‘Colander’ (strainer) vs ‘calendar’ (dates):

10. Food from breakfast = :

🔀 Word Scramble

Unscramble the letters

NARUTSEART

EABVLTEEG

TCEAOLOCH

ILOCCORB

CIMURETR

✏️ Fill in Missing Letters

Type the missing letters

rest_ _rant

veget_ble

choc_late

brocc_li

turm_ric

❓ FAQ

Why are food words so hard to spell?

Many food words come from French (restaurant, croissant, buffet), Italian (spaghetti, broccoli, cappuccino), or other languages. They follow foreign spelling rules, not English ones.

How to spell ‘restaurant’?

Break it into 3 parts: REST + AU + RANT. The AU in the middle is the tricky part — it comes from French. Remember: you REST while someone AUthors your RANT about food!

Is it ‘broccoli’ or ‘brocoli’?

Broccoli — with 2 C’s and 1 L. It’s Italian! Italian often has double consonants. Think: brusCHetta, mozzareLLa, capPuCCino, zuCChini — Italian loves doubles!

Why is ‘refrigerator’ not ‘refridgerator’?

There’s no D! It comes from Latin ‘refrigerare’ (to make cold). The root is FRIGER not FRIDGE. ‘Fridge’ is just an informal short form that added a D for easy pronunciation.

Indian spice spelling tips?

Say all syllables: TUR-MER-IC (3 parts), CIN-NA-MON (3 parts, 2N), CAR-DA-MOM (ends in MOM!), CO-RI-AN-DER (4 parts, 1R). Don’t skip the middle syllable!

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