Now that the end-of-the-year feasts known as réveillons are over, French people are glad to return to simpler, healthier food like soups, which are especially popular during winter and often the main part of the evening meal. Let's find out what ingredients typically go into a French soup and explore some soup-related vocabulary in the process. 

Many French people prefer a more sustainable diet of légumes verts (green vegetables) after les fêtes (the holidays):

Après les fêtes, c'est légumes, et puis un peu d'eau plutôt que de l'alcool, voilà.

After the holidays, it's vegetables, and then a little water rather than alcohol, that's it.

Caption 7, TV Vendée Fêtes de fin d’année : manger léger et équilibré

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These légumes verts (green vegetables), not to be confused with “legumes” in English, will be the main ingredients of a soup:

On essaye de manger un peu plus de légumes verts, bon des soupes et voilà.

We try to eat a few more green vegetables, well, soups, and that's it.

Caption 4, TV Vendée Fêtes de fin d’année : manger léger et équilibré

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The base for a soup also includes un bouillon (bouillon or broth). Le bouillon de volaille (chicken broth) also makes a good base for a sauce:

On déglace avec le bouillon de volaille.

You deglaze with the chicken bouillon.

Caption 41, Alsace 20 Grain de Sel: Au Caveau de l'étable à Niederbronn-les-Bains

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French people often make their soup from scratch by cutting up some vegetables, just as Jeremy and Marie do in the video below. However, you will notice that they call their soup un potage. Most people don’t make a distinction between une soupe and un potage, but there are some differences. Un potage sounds slightly more sophisticated, and its consistency is lighter than a soup as it is usually a blended mixture:

La dernière fois, vous vous souvenez, nous avons coupé les légumes afin de faire un potage

Last time, you remember, we cut the vegetables in order to make a soup

Captions 3-5, Marie & Jeremy Potage - Part 2

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So, what kind of légumes are popular in une soupe or un potage? The French are especially fond of poireaux (leeks), oignons (onions), and carottes (carrots). (Note the difference in spelling here: une carotte has one R and two Ts in French, the opposite of the English "carrot.")

Et tout ce qui est poireaux, euh... on va faire poireaux, carottes, euh... voilà la soupe.

And everything that is leeks, uh... we're going to make leeks, carrots, uh... that's it, the soup.

Caption 13, TV Vendée Fêtes de fin d’année : manger léger et équilibré

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French soup names usually follow the formula: soupe + à + definite article + main ingredient. For example, we have soupe à l’oignon (onion soup) and soupe à la citrouille (pumpkin soup). 

L'hiver, les gens préfèrent rester chez eux... On mange surtout de la soupe. Par exemple, de la soupe à l'oignon, de la soupe à la citrouille...

In the winter, people prefer to stay at home... We mostly eat soup. For example, onion soup, pumpkin soup...

Caption 1, 3-4  Fanny parle des saisons La Bouffe

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But sometimes you'll see the preposition de after soupe, when the soup mostly consists of one main ingredient. For example, we're more likely to say soupe de poisson (fish soup) if fish is the star ingredient, but soupe au poisson is also correct. Either way, be sure to pronounce the double S in poisson correctly, unlike Sam in this video:

Deuxième plat: soupe de la poison [sic]. Soupe de poison ? Poisson, poisson, soupe de poisson.

Second dish: poison soup. Poison soup? Fish, fish, fish soup. 

Captions 1-4, Extr@ Ep. 4 - Sam trouve du travail - Part 6

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Speaking of soupe de poisson, have you ever tried a bouillabaisse, a hearty tomato-based fish soup from southern France? In the video below, one of the speakers comes from Marseille, where bouillabaisse originated:

De notre côté c'est pas les crêpes, c'est plutôt la bouillabaisse.

For us, it's not crêpes, it's more bouillabaisse.

Caption 21, Fanny et Corrine Leurs origines

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If you prefer a smoother texture to your seafood soup, you may want to try une bisque au homard (lobster bisque):

Les bisques de homard sont souvent au menu dans les grands restaurants à quatre étoiles.

Lobster bisques are often on the menu in four-star restaurants.

For an even richer, smoother texture, you may like un velouté (literally, "velvety"), a creamy vegetable soup thickened with butter, cream, or egg yolk:

Vous pouvez commander un velouté aux champignons au restaurant.

You can order a cream of mushroom soup at the restaurant.

Finally, we have a thinner, clear mixture, but with a more intense, concentrated flavor, called un consommé:

Un consommé est un fond ou bouillon qui a été clarifié avec un blanc d’œuf.

A consommé is stock or bouillon that has been clarified with egg white.

Whether you prefer a humble soupe or potage or a more sophisticated bisque or consommé, you'll have plenty of options in France! You can find even more on this page. And be sure to check out Yabla’s delicious food-related videos.

What’s in an egg? Besides its culinary versatility, the French œuf (egg) has some unique spelling and pronunciation features. Let’s discover its special characteristics and then take it into the kitchen to explore some egg-related vocabulary.

First, let’s explore the unique spelling feature of the noun œuf. A few common words have this special character œ, like le cœur (heart), la sœur (sister), l'œuvre (work), and le bœuf (ox):

Qui vole un œuf vole un bœuf.

He who steals an egg steals an ox (give someone an inch and they'll take a mile; once a thief, always a thief).

Let’s look at another example featuring the word œuf in Patricia’s fairy tale video, “Le vilain petit canard” (The Ugly Duckling):

Le septième œuf, le plus gros de tous n'avait toujours pas éclos.

The seventh egg, the largest of all, had not yet hatched.

Caption 10, Contes de fées Le vilain petit canard - Part 1

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Not only does the word œuf contain a special character, but it also has an irregular pronunciation in the plural form, des œufs (eggs), even though the spelling is perfectly regular. Indeed, while un œuf (an egg) rhymes with neuf (nine), des œufs (eggs) rhymes with feu (fire). Listen carefully to Lionel’s pronunciation of œuf versus œufs in his video on madeleine-making:

Ici devant moi, nous avons un œuf, o, e, u, f, mais également des œufs, le pluriel: des œufs.

Here in front of me, we have un œuf [an egg], o, e, u, f, but also des œufs, the plural: some eggs.

Captions 19-22, Lionel L'usine de madeleines de Liverdun - Part 1

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The letter œ is an example of a ligature, a character composed of two letters joined together. In French, œ is commonly called e dans l'o ("e in the o"), which is actually a pun, as it sounds like œufs dans l'eau (eggs in the water)!

Speaking of eggs in water, let’s proceed to the kitchen. As you know, there are many ways to cook an egg, but first you should know how to tell un œuf cru (a raw egg) from un œuf dur (a hard-boiled egg):

Est-ce que vous savez comment reconnaître un œuf cru d'un œuf dur ?

Do you know how to tell a raw egg from a hard-boiled egg?

Once you’ve established that your egg is cru (raw) and not dur (hard-boiled), you may want to prepare un œuf mollet (a soft-boiled egg). Not to be confused with the anatomical term le mollet (the calf), mollet here is a variant of the adjective molle (soft). Un œuf mollet (a soft-boiled egg) is often served in the country salad described below:

Nous avons une salade de lentilles avec un œuf mollet et une vinaigrette au lard paysan.

We have a lentil salad with a soft-boiled egg and a vinaigrette with country bacon.

Caption 7, Alsace 20 Grain de Sel: Au Caveau de l'étable à Niederbronn-les-Bains

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If un œuf mollet is not to your taste, you could try un œuf poché (a poached egg). The restaurant Le Relais de la Poste in Alsace has a delicious version of this on their menu:

Laurent Huguet du Relais de la Poste, lui accommode un œuf poché aux asperges avec un petit riesling.

Laurent Huguet of the Relais de la Poste, he prepares a poached egg with asparagus with a little Riesling.

Captions 22-23, Alsace 20 100 recettes pour 100 vins

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Another alternative is un œuf au plat (a fried egg, literally "an egg on the plate"), which can make a nice addition to a traditional savory French crêpe:

Tu peux faire une crêpe complète avec jambon, fromage, et en plus tu rajoutes un œuf au plat par-dessus.

You can make a complete crêpe with ham, cheese, and in addition you add a fried egg to the dish on top.

Captions 44-46, Claude et Zette Les crêpes bretonnes

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You can also make œufs Bénédicte, or a simple omelette. In their video, Elisa and Mashal discuss what mouth-watering egg dishes they would like for breakfast:

Des œufs Bénédicte ou sinon je te fais des œufs... un... une omelette.

Eggs Benedict, or otherwise I'll make you eggs... a... an omelette.

Caption 82, Elisa et Mashal Petit-déjeuner

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Les œufs are also an essential baking ingredient that you can crack into your mixture. In French, though, we don’t say craquer (to crack) but rather casser les œufs (break the eggs). In his madeleine video, Lionel asks about the art of casser des œufs:

Donc là ben, on va commencer par casser des œufs entiers.

So, here, well, we're going to start by cracking some whole eggs.

Caption 36, Lionel L'usine de madeleines de Liverdun - Part 1

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Here is another culinary technique: fouetter/battre les blancs en neige (to beat the egg whites until stiff; literally, "beat the whites into snow"). This is exactly what is required to make a chocolate-rolled Christmas log:

Vous fouettez les blancs en neige

You beat the egg whites until stiff

Caption 44, Il était une fois la pâtisserie Bûche de Noël

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If le blanc is "the egg white" in French, can you guess what "the yolk" is? That's right, le jaune (literally, "the yellow")! 

As you can see, there is more than one way to frire un œuf (fry an egg). Whichever way you choose to cook des œufs, be sure to use the correct pronunciation. Feel free to draw inspiration from our many Yabla cooking videos on how to prepare your eggs, and you will increase your kitchen vocabulary in the process.

Happy cooking!

In our previous lesson, we learned that rester is a false cognate meaning "to stay/to remain." In this lesson, we will continue to explore the various uses of rester and focus on the impersonal verb il reste (there remains). We will also look at the meaning of le reste (the rest) as a noun.

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The phrase il reste is a bit tricky as it does not necessarily mean "he/it stays." Indeed, the construction il reste is what we call an impersonal verb, as the subject of the sentence (il) doesn’t stand for anything or anyone in particular. Hence the translation of il reste is open to interpretation and will vary. The impersonal pronoun il can be equivalent to "there" in English. In the example below, the construction il reste + noun means "there’s also" in the context of the video:

Et ensuite il reste un dessert en supplément à deux euros soixante

And afterward there's also a dessert for an additional two euros sixty

Caption 10, Alsace 20 - Grain de Sel: Au Caveau de l'étable à Niederbronn-les-Bains

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In another example, we have the expression ce qu’il en reste, which simply means "what’s left of it." Il is omitted in the translation as it only has a grammatical function in French and is therefore not needed in English:

Ce qu'il en reste.

What remains of it.

Caption 14, Arles - Un Petit Tour d'Arles

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Il reste (there remains) often comes in a negative form, such as il ne reste que... This is a very useful expression to convey that "only x remains":

Maintenant il ne reste que le cadre.

Now only the frame remains.

Another variation of il ne reste que is il ne reste plus que, which means "there remains only":

Du fait de nombreuses fusions,

Because of many mergers,

il ne reste plus qu'une société anonyme de cartes de crédit

there remains only one limited liability credit card company

Caption 15, Patricia - Pas de crédit dans le monde des clones

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Il ne reste plus que can also translate as "all that’s left":

Aujourd'hui, derrière, malheureusement,

Today, behind it, unfortunately,

il ne reste plus qu'un parking.

all that's left is a parking lot.

Caption 25, Voyage en France - Fontainebleau

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And there is yet another way to interpret il ne reste plus que. It can also mean "there is only x left":

Il ne reste plus que cette porte

There is only this door left

Caption 22, Voyage en France - Fontainebleau

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We also have the negative expression il ne reste plus rien, which means "there’s nothing left":

Donne-moi tout, même quand il [ne] reste plus rien

Give it all to me, even when there's nothing left

Caption 1, Corneille - Comme un fils

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What’s more, you can even throw a personal pronoun such as me in the mix. In the example below, we have il ne me reste plus qu’à, which is a complex turn of phrase best translated as "all that remains for me":

Il [ne] me reste plus qu'à vous souhaiter un très bon appétit

All that remains for me to do is wish you a very good appetite

Caption 114, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano - Médaillon de Homard - Part 3

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Indeed, French speakers often insert a personal pronoun in between il reste, as in il nous reste (we still have). The personal pronoun nous becomes the subject pronoun "we":

Il nous reste encore quelques minutes de cuisson pour le homard.

We still have a few minutes of cooking time left for the lobster.

Caption 15, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano - Médaillon de Homard - Part 2

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In another video, il ne nous reste plus que translates as "we only have x remaining":

Et là, il [ne] nous reste plus que deux colonnes de marbre

And here we only have two marble columns remaining

Caption 16, Arles - Un Petit Tour d'Arles

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The expression il ne vous reste plus grand-chose (you don’t have much left) works in a similar way. Once again, the personal pronoun (vous) becomes the subject in English: 

Et ça a bien marché puisqu'il [ne] vous reste plus grand-chose.

And business has been good since you don't have that much left.

Caption 52, Arles - Le marché d'Arles

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There are many other ways of using il reste, which you can explore here. All this may seem a bit complicated, but fortunately, when reste is used as a noun, it's much simpler! Le reste is a direct cognate that simply means "the rest":

Tout le reste du temps, je dors là où je suis assise

The rest of the time, I sleep right where I'm sitting

Caption 15, Le Journal - Les navigateurs du Vendée Globe

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However, the plural les restes takes on a new meaning. Now we're talking about "leftovers" or "leftover food":

Bon, souvent parce qu'il y a des restes,

Well, often because there are leftovers,

donc il faut éliminer les restes.

so it's necessary to eliminate the leftovers.

Caption 9, TV Vendée - Fêtes de fin d’année : manger léger et équilibré

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Finally, to be clear, "to rest" in English is NOT rester but se reposer or reposer:

Tu peux admirer le paysage et te reposer.

You can admire the scenery and rest.

Caption 45, Le saviez-vous? - Comment voyager?

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Maintenant, on va la laisser reposer

Now we are going to let it rest

Caption 32, Alsace 20 - Grain de Sel: le Lycée hôtelier Alexandre Dumas

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Now that you have worked so hard, il ne vous reste plus qu’à vous reposer (there is nothing left for you to do but rest)!

Sometimes, the meaning of a French word is easy to guess when it looks similar to an English word. However, for every cognate, there are just as many false cognates. And yet, il en reste encore beaucoup (there are still many more) that are worthy of our attention. In this lesson, we will look at the word rester, which—you guessed it—is un faux ami (a false cognate) and doesn’t mean “to rest." So what does it really mean? 

The basic meaning of rester is “to stay/to remain.” In the example below, it means “to stay put”: 

Bouge pas de là, Léon. Tu restes ici!

Do not move from here, Leon. You stay here!

Caption 5, Les zooriginaux - 3 Qui suis-je?

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A more forceful variation of Tu restes ici! is the idiomatic expression Reste tranquille! (Keep still!), which is often used to control restless children:

Restez tranquilles, les enfants!

Keep still, children!

You can also use rester (to stay) for all sorts of situations, as in rester en contact (to stay in contact):

Par ailleurs, Manon est restée en contact avec Émilie.

Moreover, Manon stayed in contact with Émilie.

Caption 30, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Nos bébés ont été échangés...

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Rester also means "to remain,” as we mentioned earlier. The tour guide at Joan of Arc's house uses rester to tell us where Joan’s family lived for a long time:

Mais le principal de sa famille est effectivement restée en Lorraine.

But the majority of her family indeed remained in Lorraine.

Caption 56, Lionel - La maison de Jeanne d'Arc

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It’s important to note that rester is one of the few verbs that require the auxiliary être (to be) in the passé composé. Patricia discusses this in a video on the subject:

Et comme tu es resté(e) concentré(e) depuis toutes ces leçons

And since you've remained focused for all these lessons

Caption 5, Le saviez-vous? - Exception dans les verbes du 1er groupe au passé composé

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Rester is also used in the present tense, of course. For example, we have the expression ça reste (that remains). In the example below, ça (that) becomes redundant in English and is therefore omitted: 

Ouais, très bonne question.

Yeah, very good question.

Donc, le plat du jour c'est sûr, ça reste un produit d'appel.

So the daily special certainly remains a promotional product.

Caption 17, Alsace 20 - Grain de Sel: Au Caveau de l'étable à Niederbronn-les-Bains

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Ça reste sometimes means “it's/these are still”:

Rappeler effectivement aux gens que ça reste des produits de confiserie, c'est pas une mauvaise mesure

Indeed, to remind people that these are still sweets, it's not a bad idea

Caption 14, Le Journal - Publicité anti-calories

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On a l'impression d'être secoué, mais ça reste très agréable.

You have the feeling of being shaken, but it's still very pleasant.

Caption 16, À la plage avec Lionel - La plage

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Il reste encore (there is still) the expression il reste (there remains), which we will discuss in a future lesson. Merci d’être resté(e) concentré(e) pendant toute cette leçon (thank you for staying focused throughout this lesson)!

In The X Factor, we focused on the various pronunciations of the letter x. We learned that x is usually silent at the end of words, including a few numbers. There are just three numerals (not including the larger numbers composed of them) ending in x in French: deux, six, dix (two, six, ten). These numbers are a breed apart, as they follow their own set of rules.

As mentioned in our earlier lesson, the final x in a word is silent in most situations, such as when the word is isolated or followed by punctuation. Note how Patricia pronounces deux (i.e., does not pronounce the x) in her lesson on numbers:

Deux.

Two.

Caption 5, Le saviez-vous? Les chiffres et les nombres - Part 1

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The same rule applies to all numbers ending in deux. This time, soixante-deux (sixty-two) is followed by a comma, also making the final x silent. (We'll deal with the x in soixante in a moment.)

soixante-deux, soixante-trois

sixty-two, sixty-three

Captions 24-25, Le saviez-vous? Les chiffres et les nombres - Part 2

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In addition, the x in deux, six, and dix is silent when followed by a word beginning with a consonant, as in six minutes (six minutes) and dix premiers (first ten):

On va dire approximativement cinq à six minutes.

We'll say approximately five to six minutes.

Caption 39, Alsace 20 Grain de Sel: Au Caveau de l'étable à Niederbronn-les-Bains

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On appelle les dix premiers nombres composés de deux chiffres les dizaines.

We call the first ten numbers composed of two digits the tens.

Captions 34-35, Le saviez-vous? Les chiffres et les nombres - Part 1

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Note, however, that there is a second pronunciation that is also correct. You might hear the x sounded like a soft s: diS premiers, siS minutes. The s sound helps emphasize quantity. Strangely enough, this never occurs with deux (two), whose x stays silent. 

On the other hand, the liaison rule is not optional and applies to all three numbers. The presence of a vowel or silent h will trigger a change in pronunciation, and the final x in deux/dix/six will sound like a z to form the liaison. Listen to the examples in the videos below. Do you hear the z sound in deuZ enfants (two children), siZ ans (six years), and diZ-huit (eighteen)?

Je suis avec mes deux enfants et mon mari.

I'm with my two children and my husband.

Caption 64, Actus Quartier Devant la SNCF

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Et nous sommes mariés depuis six ans maintenant.

And we've been married for six years now.

Caption 15, Ahlam et Timothé Des conversations basiques

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Dix-huit.

Eighteen.

Caption 54, Le saviez-vous? Les chiffres et les nombres - Part 1

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Interestingly, a liaison also occurs with the number dix-neuf (nineteen), pronounced diZ-neuf, even though neuf starts with a consonant!

Pareil pour dix-neuf.

Same for nineteen.

Caption 55, Le saviez-vous? Les chiffres et les nombres - Part 1

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Going back to a more regular pattern, you will also hear the z sound in ordinal numbers, as in sixième (sixth), deuxième (second), and dixième (tenth), since the x is between two vowels:

Il nous avait assurés qu'il n'y aurait pas de deuxième confinement.

He had assured us that there would be no second lockdown.

Caption 12, Lionel L Le deuxième confinement

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Donc au sixième étage tu peux manger

So on the sixth floor you can eat

Caption 72, Amal et Caroline Centre Georges Pompidou

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So far so good, but here comes another set of exceptions: the rogue sixties (and seventies)! All numbers containing soixante (sixty) escape the z-sound rule. Whereas usually an x between two vowels is pronounced like a z, in soixante it sounds like an s instead. Listen to Patricia again. Do you hear the s sounds in soiSSante (sixty) and soiSSante-siS (sixty-six)?

Et soixante. Soixante et un.

And sixty. Sixty-one.

Captions 22-23, Le saviez-vous? Les chiffres et les nombres - Part 2

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Soixante-six.

Sixty-six.

Caption 28, Le saviez-vous? Les chiffres et les nombres - Part 2

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Besides the exception above, there are other regular instances when the x should sound like s. When isolated or separated by punctuation, dix and six sound like diS and siS. (But as mentioned, deux keeps its silent x.) Here's Patricia again:

Six.

Six.

Caption 9, Le saviez-vous? Les chiffres et les nombres - Part 1

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Après dix, on aura donc dans les dizaines...

After ten, we will thus have, in the tens...

Caption 36, Le saviez-vous? Les chiffres et les nombres - Part 1

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You're more likely to use the s sound when counting or doing math: 

Dix-sept, c'est dix plus sept.

Seventeen is ten plus seven.

Captions 49-50, Le saviez-vous? Les chiffres et les nombres - Part 1

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These frequent switches between sounds come naturally to native French speakers but can be a bit of a puzzle for new learners. Note how Patricia toggles between diZ and diS effortlessly:

Pareil pour dix-huit. Dix plus huit.

Same for eighteen. Ten plus eight.

Captions 52-53, Le saviez-vous? Les chiffres et les nombres - Part 1

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In short, the pronunciation of the numbers deux, six, and dix may seem very inconsistent and challenging at times. But with practice and listening to many Yabla videos, things will become easier. Here's a summary to help you:

The x is silent when a consonant follows the number:

deux parapluies (two umbrellas)

six voitures (six cars)

dix maisons (ten houses)

And when deux is isolated or separated by punctuation:

Deux. (Two.)

Un, deux, trois. (One, two, three.)

The x sounds like a Z when a liaison occurs:

deux amis (deuZ amis, two friends)

six enfants (siZ enfants, six children)

deuxième, sixième, dixième (deuZième, siZième, diZième, second, sixth, tenth)

dix-huit (diZ-huit, eighteen)

Exception: dix-neuf (diZ-neuf, nineteen)

The x sounds like an S when six or dix is isolated or separated by punctuation, and in numbers containing soixante:

dix plus six (diS plus siS, ten plus six)

Cinquante-six. (Cinquante-siS, fifty-six)

Soixante. (SoiSSante, sixty)

soixante-six, soixante-dix (soiSSante-siS, soiSSante-diS, sixty-six, seventy)

Thank you for reading. And remember that you can always count on Yabla videos to help you out!

The mention of French cuisine conjures up images of mouthwatering food prepared with loving care. How do ordinary French people manage to produce delicious meals every day? One of the key ingredients to success is how you cook the food. In this lesson, you will learn various expressions associated with cuire (cooking). À vos fourneaux! (Let’s get cooking!)

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As mentioned earlier, the generic verb for “cooking” is cuire. In the video below, JB explains how he prefers to cuire ses légumes ensemble (cook his vegetables together) for his ratatouille:

En effet selon certaines traditions il faut les cuire séparément ou tous ensemble. Moi, je préfère les cuire tous ensemble.

Indeed, according to certain traditions, you have to cook them separately or all together. As for me, I prefer to cook them all together

Captions 16-18, JB La ratatouille

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As for Lucette, who is making apricot jam, she uses the expression faire cuire, which means the same thing as cuire (to cook):

Dans le temps, on les faisait cuire dans la bassine en cuivre,

In past times, we used to cook them in a copper basin,

Caption 6, Lucette La confiture d'abricots

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Lucette puts her apricots in une cocotte de cuisson (a cooker), a kind of Dutch oven for slow cooking: 

Je vais les mettre dans la cocotte de cuisson.

I'm going to put them in the cooker.

Caption 30, Lucette La confiture d'abricots

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On its own, the verb mettre usually means “to put," but mettre à cuire is yet another equivalent to cuire and faire cuire. Having said that, note that in the context of the video below, mettre à cuire departs from its usual meaning and translates as “to bake” since it’s implied that the food is going in the oven:

Et nous allons la mettre à cuire

And we're going to bake it

Caption 89, Christian Le Squer Comment cuisiner les figues

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In fact, there is no concise French equivalent of the verb “to bake”! You have to say cuire/faire cuire au four (literally, “to cook in the oven”). Watch JB bake a delicious Mirabelle plum tart in the video below:

Il s'agit de la faire cuire au four

It's a matter of baking it in the oven

Caption 36, JB La tarte aux mirabelles

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On the other hand, the verb enfourner is much more concise than its English translation, “to put/load into the oven." This skilled baker is going to enfourner les madeleines (put the madeleines in the oven):

Steven va à présent enfourner les madeleines.

Steven is now going to put the madeleines in the oven.

Caption 57, Lionel L'usine de madeleines de Liverdun - Part 2

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Then again, English has a verb for “steaming,” which doesn’t exist in French. You have to use the construction cuire + noun + à la vapeur (literally, “to cook with steam”):

Cuire les légumes à la vapeur permet de conserver les vitamines.

Steaming vegetables helps preserve vitamins.

Not only can you use the verb cuire to talk about steaming and baking, but you can also cuire at various temperatures: à feu doux (on low heat) or à feu vif (on high heat):

Tout dépend de la chaleur du feu; il faut toujours le faire à feu doux.

It all depends on the stove temperature; it always has to be done on low heat.

Caption 40, Alsace 20 Grain de Sel: Au Caveau de l'étable à Niederbronn-les-Bains

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Je fais revenir le tout à feu vif pendant trois minutes.

I brown everything over high heat for three minutes.

Caption 24, JB La ratatouille

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After browning (faire revenir) everything, JB turns down the heat to mijoter (simmer) his ratatouille:

Je laisse encore mijoter pour une quinzaine de minutes.

I let it simmer again for fifteen minutes or so.

Captions 38-39, JB La ratatouille

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You'll often see mijoter or its synonym, mitonner, in the expression mijoter/mitonner de bons petits plats, which translates as “cooking up nice little dishes." Yet no expression in English quite conveys the love, care, and time that goes into mijoter/mitonner des bons petits plats, which is exactly what the chef and his staff are doing in the video below:

En effet, le chef et l'équipe de cuisine s'emploient à leur mitonner de bons petits plats chaque jour.

Indeed, the chef and the kitchen staff are working on cooking up nice little dishes for them every day.

Caption 22, TV Tours Défendre les fromages au lait cru

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If spending hours in the kitchen is not for you, you can resort to le micro-ondes (the microvave). The grandmother in the video below needs a little technical help with son micro-ondes (her microwave):

Rien... savoir comment marcher le micro-ondes.

Nothing... just how to work the microwave.

Caption 66, Le Jour où tout a basculé Mes grands-parents sont infidèles - Part 7

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The word “microwave” only exists as a noun in French. If you want “to microwave," you have to again resort to the construction cuire + noun: cuire/faire cuire au micro-ondes (literally, "to cook in the microwave”):

Faire cuire au micro-ondes 5 à 10 minutes suivant la puissance du four. Mélanger.

Microwave for 5 to 10 minutes depending on the oven. Mix.

In conclusion, whatever cooking method you may prefer, you’re likely to use the verb cuire (to cook). Yabla cooking videos will help you mijoter de bons petits plats (cook up nice little dishes) while learning French. Thank you for spending time in our Yabla “kitchen”! Stay tuned for another lesson on kitchen-related vocabulary. 

À vos fourneaux! (Get cooking!)