What does simmer mean?
Word: Simmer
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Simmer means to cook food gently in liquid that is kept just below boiling, so that only small bubbles rise.
How do you spell simmer?
Syllables: sim - mer
Tricky part: The m is doubled. You hear only one m sound, so students often write simer, which looks as if it should rhyme with timer.
Watch out for: simer, symmer
Memory tip: Two pots on a low flame, two m's in the middle: one m for each pot bubbling quietly.
Idioms and Phrases
- simmer down: to become calm after being excited Example: "The children took a while to simmer down after the surprise party."
Simmer in a sentence
Example 1: Mum adds the cream once the tomato soup starts to simmer.
Example 2: The chef told us to simmer the vegetables, not fry them.
Example 3: Leave the rice pudding to simmer while you lay the table.
Fun Fact
Cooks tell a simmer from a boil by the bubbles: simmering liquid sends up small, lazy bubbles, while a full boil bubbles hard all over the pan.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Twins
Choose the option that fills both blanks correctly:
1. Turn the flame down and let the beans ___ for twenty minutes. 2. Tiny ripples made the lake ___ in the evening light.
a) shimmer/simmer
b) 'shimmer' in both
c) simmer/shimmer
d) 'simmer' in both
Show answer
c) simmer/shimmer. Beans cooking gently on a low flame simmer; light dancing on water shimmers.
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) trimmer
b) hammer
c) slimmer
d) simmar
Show answer
d) simmar. Hammer in the same list shows the ending this word needs; simmar has the wrong vowel before the r.
Sound Check
In which word is 'i' pronounced differently?
a) whisper
b) climb
c) simmer
d) biscuit
Show answer
b) climb. Climb has the long i of time; simmer, whisper and biscuit keep the short i of sit.
Word Tally
You get 2 marks for each correctly spelt word in the list. How many marks will you get?
simmer, saucepan, ladel, spatulla, stove, kettel
a) 4
b) 10
c) 6
d) 8
Show answer
c) 6. Ladle, spatula and kettle are all misspelt, so only three words score: 3 x 2 = 6.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What could a cook leave to simmer on the stove?
a) a pot of stew
b) a bowl of salad
c) a glass of juice
d) a slice of toast
Show answer
a) a pot of stew
2. A recipe says 'bring to the boil, then simmer'. What should the cook do next?
a) stir it very fast
b) turn the heat down
c) switch off the stove
d) add some ice cubes
Show answer
b) turn the heat down
