pomodoro means tomato in Italian

How do you say tomato in Italian?

Pomodoro!

The pomodoro, tomato, is a very important ingredient in Italian cooking.  Pasta al pomodoro means pasta with tomato sauce.  Pasta al pomodoro is only one of hundreds of ways to prepare pasta.

Preferisco i pomodori rossi.
I prefer red tomatoes.

Extra credit, make pronunciation fun:

Pomodoro starts out sounding like the "pom" of "pom pom"

The second syllable sounds like "oh"

The third syllable gets the emphasis and sounds like "DOOR"

The final part of the word sounds like "oh" 

pom-oh-DOOR-oh

uova means egg in Italian

How do you say egg in Italian?

Uova!

When I lived in Italy I could not find uove bianche, white eggs.  The only color available was brown! Now that I'm back in the US, the brown uova is the only kind of egg I buy!

Non rompere l'uova.
Don't break the egg.

Extra credit, make pronunciation fun:

Uova starts out sounding just like "woah"

The first half of the word gets the emphasis and sounds like "WOAH"

The second half of the word sounds like "vuh" to rhyme with  "uh huh"

WOAH-vuh

birra means beer in Italian

How do you say beer in Italian?

Birra!

Birra and pizza is a popular combination at Italian pizzerias.  Birra Moretti is a well-known brand of Italian beer.

Una birra, per favore.
A beer, please.

Extra credit, make pronunciation fun:

Birra sounds just like "beer"

The first half of the word gets the emphasis and sounds like "BEER"

The second half of the word sounds like "ruh" to rhyme with "uh huh"
Take your time to pronounce both the R of "BEER" and the r of "ruh"

BEER-ruh

mela means apple in Italian

How do you say apple in Italian?

Mela!

Mela, apple, is featured in many Italian desserts.  Sfogliata di mela is one of my favorites- it's sort of the Italian version of apple pie.

La mela è rossa.
The apple is red.

Extra credit, make pronunciation fun:

Mela starts out sounding just like "mail"

The first half of the word gets the emphasis and sounds like "MAIL"

The second half of the word sounds like the "uh" of "uh huh"

MAIL-uh

sale means salt in Italian

How do you say salt in Italian?

Sale!

There are two types of sale, salt, used in Italian cooking.  Sale fino is fine table salt.  Sale grosso is coarse sea salt.

Aggiungere un pizzico di sale.
Add a pinch of salt.

Extra credit, make pronunciation fun:

Sale starts out sounding like "sall" to rhyme with "mall""all""tall"

The first half of the word gets the emphasis and sounds like "SALL"

The second half of the word sounds like the "ay" of "hay"

SALL-ay

coltello means knife in Italian

How do you say knife in Italian?

Coltello!

Coltello, knife, is used to describe both the coltello for food preparation in the kitchen and the coltello for eating at the table.

Attenzione, il coltelo è tagliente!
Careful, the knife is sharp!

Extra credit, make pronunciation fun:

Coltello starts out sounding like "coal"

The second syllable gets the emphasis and sounds like "TELL"

The third syllable sounds like "low"

Make sure to take your time pronouncing both l's, both the l of "TELL" and the l of "low"
coal-TELL-low

asparago means asparagus in Italian

How do you say asparagus in Italian?

Asparago!

Usually you'll see asparagus, asparagi, written in the plural.  That's because asparagus, asparagi are too good to eat just one!

Gli asparagi sono verdi.
The asparagus are green.

Extra credit, make pronunciation fun:

Asparago starts out sounding like "us"

The second syllable gets the emphasis and sounds like "PAR" (as in the golf term)

The third syllable sounds like "ugh"(for those crazy folks who don't like asparagus)

The final part of the word sounds like "oh" 

us-PAR-ugh-oh

In the plural:
Asparagi starts out sounding like "us"

The second syllable gets the emphasis and sounds like "PAR" (as in the golf term)
The third syllable sounds like "uh" of "uh huh"
The final part of the words sounds like "gee" (gee whiz!)
us-PAR-uh-gee