olla
nounCEFR B1
What does “olla” mean in English?
pot / cooking pot
pot / cooking pot (deep vessel for boiling, stewing, or making stock) — olla a presión, cocinar en la olla
Example sentences
Pon las lentejas en la olla, cúbrelas con agua fría y cocínalas a fuego lento durante una hora con una hoja de laurel.
Put the lentils in the pot, cover them with cold water and cook them over low heat for one hour with a bay leaf.
Si tienes una olla a presión, puedes reducir el tiempo de cocción del cocido a veinte minutos en lugar de dos horas.
If you have a pressure cooker, you can reduce the cooking time of the stew to twenty minutes instead of two hours.
How to use it
Olla means 'pot' or 'cooking pot' — a deep vessel for boiling, stewing, or making stocks and soups. It is feminine (la olla). Key types: olla a presión (pressure cooker), olla exprés (same), olla de barro (clay pot). Common collocates: poner en la olla, cocinar en la olla, la olla lleva... (the pot contains...).
Common mistake
Olla (deep cooking pot) and cazuela (shallower, often earthenware) and cacerola (saucepan with long handle) are three different pieces of equipment. In everyday speech they sometimes blur, but recipes tend to be precise. Olla is the go-to word for large-capacity boiling vessels and stew pots.