Using Collocations for Natural English - Elizabeth Walter, Kate Woodford 2010
Collocations for food
Review Units 13-16
It's perfectly delicious
Study tip
Look out for collocations connectedto food in advertisements, supermarket leaflets, cookery programmes, etc. Notice word combinations that are frequently used to describe particular foods.
Many food collocations are very positive and describe good things about food, such as pleasant tastes or textures. Others tell you that a food is healthy in some way or that its production does not harm the environment.
1 Where do you think you might see or hear these extracts? Match the extracts 1-10 with the types of text in the box (more than one match is possible).
supermarket leaflet • recipe book • restaurant menu • advertisement
1 All our food is freshly prepared on the premises by a team of skilful chefs.
2 All our vegetables are cooked for as little time as possible to preserve their delicate flavours.
3 In our restaurant we serve only seasonal fruit.
4 pieces of lightly seasoned succulent chicken in a spicy tomato sauce
5 a bowl of lightly steamed vegetables to accompany your main course
6 If it's a light snack you're after, choose from our range of delicious sandwiches ...
7 We are proud to say that all our meat is locally sourced from farms in the region.
8 We believe that this results in the sort of flavourful, tender meat that our customers want to eat.
9 And if you don't like rich sauces, how about one of the following lighter options?
10 How about a nice crunchy salad to go with your pizza?
2 Replace the underlined phrases with collocations from Exercise 1.
1 I fancy a bowl of uncooked vegetables that make a noise when you bite them.
2 The fish came in a delicious liquid food with a lot of butter or cre am in it.
3 The whole dish had such a pleasant and not strong taste.
4 I'd never eaten such soft and easy to cut meat.
5 A lot of restaurants these days use food that has been grown or produced nearby.
6 These cooked for a short time over boiling water vegetables are very healthy.
7 The food is all made ready to eat just before serving.
8 I asked for the vegetables to be with just a little salt and pepper added.
9 I like to buy apples, pears, etc, only available at a particular time of the year from the market.
10 We can have a small meal at the motorway services if we can't last till dinnertime.
3 Complete the food blog with collocations from Exercise 1.
Sara Schneider's Food Blog
Last Friday I had the pleasure of eating lunch in a local restaurant, The Pink Rose. This nice little eatery functions as a cafe and a restaurant, offering both substantial meals and 1 ... snacks at different times of the day. The food is all 2 ... prepared in the kitchen and, according to the menu, where possible, all ingredients are locally 3 ... from farms in the region. For my main course, I chose a 4 ... seasoned salmon in a delicious 5… sauce (full of calories, I dare say). This came with a healthy bowl of 6... salad. Everything
on my plate tasted fresh and full of flavour. My companion chose braised beef, accompanied by lightly 7 ... vegetables (still with that bit of bite - perfect). He was delighted with his meal, reporting that he had rarely had such delicious 8... meat. For dessert, we shared a 'platter of seasonal 9... which was not only virtuous but also extremely tasty. It reminded me that the 10... flavours of fresh fruit are best appreciated when the fruit is uncooked.
4 Answer the questions about Sara Schneider's blog, using the collocations you have learned above.
1 Does The Pink Rose only serve main meals&
No, it also server light snacks.
2 DoesThe Pink Rose serve meals that are already made when you arrive there?
3 Where does most of the restaurant's food come from?
4 Did the salmon dish that Sara chose have a lot of salt on it?
5 Why are the vegetables served at The Pink Rose healthy?
6 Was the meat that Sara's companion chose difficult to cut7
7 What is it about fresh fruit that Sara particularly enjoys?
8 Does The Pink Rose serve the sort of fruit that is grown throughout the whole of the year?
5 Match the sentence halves.
1 Too much cooking spoils
2 All our food
3 All the food in the restaurant is locally sourced
4 I had a big meal at lunch so I'll only want
5 I generally buy seasonal fruits and vegetables and avoid
6 I try to avoid rich sauces
7 All their food is very lightly seasoned
8 I thought I'd serve the tart with a bowl
9 Slow cooking over several hours results
10 Serve the pasta with a bowl of crunchy salad for extra
a a light snack for dinner.
b from farms and small companies in the area.
c the delicate flavour of the fish.
d is freshly prepared to order.
e anything that has been flown in from other countries.
f with a lot of cream or butter in them.
g so you don't have to worry about your salt intake.
h of lightly steamed vegetables.
i in lovely tender meat.
j vitamins.
6 Put the phrases in the correct order to make sentences. Add punctuation where necessary.
1 lightly steamed/to lose weight/and help you/vegetables are healthy
2 in the middle of the day/you should/snack in the evening/have your main meal/ and a light
3 freshly/is generally/pre-prepared food/prepared food/healthier than
4 the delicate/cook for as little/flavour of the herbs/to preserve/time as possible
5 sauces/to lose weight/you should/if you are trying/avoid rich
6 using locally/food/is better for/sourced food/the environment
7 tender/cook for five hours/at a low heat/for really/meat
8 lightly/are healthier/and tastier/seasoned vegetables
9 salad is/to any meal/a crunchy/a healthy addition
10 that is out of season/seasonal/rather than produce/try to buy/fruits and vegetables
Study tip
Notice other words that form j collocations with the I adverbs freshly and I lightly. These words are frequently used in descriptions of food.
Classroom extra
If this unit is being done in class, ask the students in pairs to discuss whether they agree with these tips.
A healthy diet
Food is very often discussed in relation to how healthy or unhealthy it is. Accordingly, many food collocations give information on this subject. These exercises focus on the sort of collocations that are heard when diet is being discussed.
7 Do you have a healthy diet? Answer these questions and find out!
DO YOU HAVE A HEALTHY DIET?
1 How many times a week do you cook from scratch?
a Never -I buy ready meals or eat out.
b I cook most meals, but we have a takeaway about once a week.
c I always cook everything myself.
2 Are processed foods a big part of your diet?
a Yes - they're quick and cheap. What's wrong with that?
b Well, it's handy to have a few things in the fridge that keep for a while.
c No, I'd rather not eat food stuffed with additives, thank you!
3 How often do you buy food in a health food shop?
a Never - brown rice and lentils are really not my thing.
b Once or twice a month I buy dried fruit and beans.
c All the time -1 call in two or three times a week for organic fruit and veg and wholemeal bread.
4 What is your attitude to ready meals?
a They're so convenient -1 live off them!
b I try to avoid them but now and then when I don't have time to cook, I'll buy a ready meal in the supermarket.
c They look so unappealing in their plastic containers and they're generally very high in fat and salt. I'd never buy or eat one!
5 How often do you eat savoury snacks, such as crisps and salted nuts?
a Every day without fail -1 love crisps and peanuts.
b Now and then as a special treat.
c Never - they're loaded with fat and salt.
6 Are fatty foods, such as cheese and butter, a big part of your diet?
a Absolutely. I can't imagine a meal without them.
b No, I eat full-fat cheese but only in moderation and I very rarely have butter or cream.
c I never eat butter or full-fat cheese.
7 How often do you eat green leafy vegetables?
a What, spinach and cabbage? Yuck! Never!
b Now and then I'll have some cabbage or greens but I'm not a huge fan.
c Most days - they're vital for good health.
8 You are hungry and someone offers you a big plate of greasy chips or a bowl of home-made vegetable soup. Which do you choose?
a The greasy chips, every time!
b I'd be tempted by the chips but would almost certainly go for the soup.
c The home-made vegetable soup for me, please. It sounds absolutely delicious!
9 Would you say you have a balanced diet?
a No, if I'm honest -1 eat far too much fat and suga.
b Fairly. I try to eat plenty of fruit and veg though I still eat too much fat.
c Yes, I eat loads of fresh fruit and vegetables and about the right amount of protein.
10 Do you prefer lean meat or fatty meat?
a I love a bit of fat on my meat.
b I cut most of the fat off but I think a bit of fat gives the meat some flavour.
c Lean meat - always. I can't stand fat.
MOSTLY A'S
Goodness, with your diet it's a miracle you have the strength to get out of bed in the morning! It might just be time to make a few changes. Start small - just one piece or fruit a day -and see where it leads you.
MOSTLY B'S
Everything in moderation, that's your motto! You look after your body but every now and then you like to treat yourself. And there's nothing wrong with that!
MOSTLY C'S
I can't fault your diet -you are Mr/ Ms Perfect! Nothing unhealthy is allowed to pass your lips. I bet your friends all admire you. (But I bet they don't invite you to their houses for dinner!)
Classroom extra
If this is being done in class, ask students to interview one another, rather than doing the questionnaire individually.
8 Match the collocations in bold in Exercise 7 with the definitions 1-10.
1 slices of fried potato covered in oil
2 animal flesh with little or no fat on it
3 a small amount of salty food that is not sweet
4 foods that are not fresh and have had chemicals added, usually to keep them good to eat for a long time
5 healthy food that a person eats every day, including enough fresh fruit and vegetables, etc.
6 to make a meal using fresh food and not food that has already been prepared
7 vegetables that have leaves, such as cabbage
8 a shop that sells food that helps you to stay physically strong
9 a dinner or lunch that is already cooked when you buy it and just needs heating
10 foods such as cheese and cream that have a lot of oil in them
9 Complete the magazine interviews with the collocations you have learned above.
For Healthy Heart Week, we interviewed some of our customers about their diets.
Beth We eat very healthily in our house - I make sure of that. We grow a lot of our own vegetables organically in our garden here. Tony or I cook from 1... most days so we eat very little 2... food. The kids get plenty of fresh fruit and veg and I make sure they eat green 3... vegetables at least twice a week, (even though they complain!). We all eat fish at least twice a week and we have brown bread rather than white, and so on. There's an excellent 4... food shop on the high street in the village so there are no excuses for not having good, fresh food in the cupboard. |
Maggie I try to cook fresh food for the family though I find it quite hard in the week when my husband and I are both working. I'd like to think we have a fairly 5... diet though I'm sure it could be better. The kids love their savoury 6...and would eat crisps every day if I let them. I try to limit them to two bags a week, maximum. I also try to keep an eye on the amount of 7... foods they're eating though it's quite hard as they love their cakes and chocolate. We're not vegetarians but I do try to limit the amount of meat that we eat and I always cook 8 ... meat. |
Pete My diet's not great, if I'm honest with you. I know I should be eating more fresh fruit and veg but I find it a bit of a struggle. I don't get home from work till gone eight o'clock in the evening and then it's just too late to start cooking. Most evenings I just stick a 9... meal in the microwave and eat that in front of the telly. Once a week I treat myself to a take-away -I get a couple of sausages or a piece of fish and a big pile of 10... chips. Like I say, it's not a perfect diet. |
10 Are the statements true (T) or false (F)?
1 Beth and Tony take time to cook healthy food for their family.
2 Beth and Tony's family eat very little food that has chemicals added.
3 Beth and Tony's children love eating vegetables such as cabbage and spinach.
4 Maggie thinks her family's diet is quite healthy.
5 Maggie tries to make sure that her children do not eat too many unhealthy salty foods.
6 Maggie allows her children to eat lots of food with oil in it.
7 Maggie cooks meat with fat on it for her family.
8 Pete usually eats meals that he has prepared himself.