This week’s story is about my attempt at baking chocolate apples! The pronunciation explanation is about when to pronounce ‘gh’ as /f/!

If you have trouble with your listening skills, here’s something that may help:
How to practice listening

If you would like to try this recipe, follow the original recipe at Nicko’s Bakery!

Listen to the podcast:
*Try to listen at least once without looking at the words!

Download the podcast in .mp3 from Podbean.com or itunes!

Listening Comprehension Questions:

1. What are the different steps in this recipe?

2. What was the hardest part of the recipe?

3. What temperature measurement do ovens in Canada use?

4. What mistake did I make?

5. What will I do if I make this recipe again?

Transcript:

(*Click on the links to learn more about the grammar, vocabulary and expressions used in the story!)

I like watching YouTube videos. I watch everything from craft videos to vlogs to cooking shows! One of my favourite YouTube shows is “Nicko’s Bakery.” Last week, he made some great chocolate apples! I love chocolate, and this dessert looked so good I thought I would try it this week!

I’m not a very good baker, but I enjoy baking. More importantly, I enjoy eating baked goods! Usually everything turns out OK if I follow a recipe. This was a very simple recipe for chocolate apples. The hardest thing to do was core the apples. I had never done that before. This carves out a hole in the middle of the apple. You put the chocolate pieces in the hole, add some water and brown sugar, and then put everything in the oven for an hour!

In Canada, we use the metric system of measurement. We measure the temperature outside in degrees Celsius, but on our ovens we use Fahrenheit. We’re a bit strange like that.

I decided to experiment with the recipe for chocolate apples. I used Red Delicious apples as well as green Granny Smith apples. I used Caramilk and Aero chocolate bars with and without brown sugar. This was not a good idea as all my experiments ended in disaster. The only apple that turned out edible was the one where I followed the recipe exactly! It tastes a lot better than it looks! In fact, it’s delicious!

If you try this recipe, you must make sure the chocolate is frozen! I put the Caramilk bar in the freezer overnight, but I decided at the last minute to use Aero bars, so they were only in the freezer for about ½ an hour. This was clearly not long enough because the chocolate melted and then burned, just like Nicko said it would! I also didn’t use enough brown sugar.

If I make this recipe again – or I should say, when I make this recipe again, because I definitely will! – I’ll use more brown sugar and only green Granny Smith apples. I won’t use Aero bars or Red Delicious apples because they didn’t taste good at all, but I will definitely use the Caramilk bar. I may also experiment with other chocolate bars as well!

Discussion questions:

Do you enjoy baking?

What do you like to bake?

What’s your favourite dessert?

Pronunciation:

Most of the time the letters ‘gh’ together in an English word are silent (they’re not pronounced), like in the words:
high
weigh
thought
caught
through

The ‘gh’ at the beginning of a word is pronounced /g/:
ghost

Sometimes the ‘gh’ is pronounced /f/ like the letter ‘f’:
cough
enough
laugh
rough
tough

Vocabulary:

a vlog
I watch everything from craft videos to vlogs to cooking shows!
= a video blog; a kind of online diary where a person talks about whatever interests them!

to turn out
Usually everything turns out OK if I follow a recipe.
= to happen, result, end or in a particular way

to core (something)
The hardest thing to do was core the apples.
= to take out the core (the central hard part with seeds) of a piece of fruit

the metric system
…we officially switched to the metric system.
= the system of measurement that uses centimetres, metres, kilometres, etc.

edible
The only apple that turned out edible …
= safe to eat!

the freezer
I put the Caramilk bar in the freezer overnight.
= the freezer is an appliance in most North American homes that can freeze food. Usually it is on one side of the refrigerator, but it can also be a separate appliance; because the temperature is below 0 degrees Celsius, everything becomes cold and hard.

overnight
I put the Caramilk bar in the freezer overnight.
= for the night; I put it in the freezer at night, then went to sleep. I took it out the next day when I was ready to start baking!

Related posts:

How to pronounce the word “chocolate:”
11 Words with Silent Letters

How to pronounce the word “recipe”
7 Commonly Mispronounced Words