Cooking · Food and eating
simmer
cook gently
To simmer food is to cook it gently in liquid just below boiling point.
This vs that
Let the sauce simmer.
Let the water boil.
Hear it in real life
Should I turn the heat down?
Yes, it only needs to simmer now.
Leave the soup to simmer for twenty minutes so the flavours can develop.
Which sounds natural?
Psst — which one would you actually say?
'Simmer' is the normal cooking verb; the longer version sounds like a technical instruction.
The mistake everyone makes
Not: Let the sauce simmer in five minutes.
Say: Let the sauce simmer for five minutes.
Use 'for' with a length of time.
Say it together
Whole chunks natives use with it.
simmer for ___
Let the curry simmer for another ten minutes.
The beans need to simmer for about half an hour.
Phrases to borrow
More for talking about cooking.
bring to the boil
Bring the water to the boil, then add the pasta.
keep an eye on ___
Keep an eye on the onions while I set the table.
Cooking words
Food and eating · Cooking: the words around “simmer”.
More connectionsMore cooking words8
More cooking words
Your turn: say it out loud
Let it simmer gently.
Say it out loud two or three times, until it feels like yours.
simmer
cook gently
“Leave the soup to simmer for twenty minutes so the flavours can develop.”
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