Para la salsa, añado una cucharada de aceite y una cucharadita de vinagre.

For the sauce, I add a tablespoon of oil and a teaspoon of vinegar.

Breakdown of Para la salsa, añado una cucharada de aceite y una cucharadita de vinagre.

• yo: I
• una: a
• para: for
• y: and

Questions & Answers about Para la salsa, añado una cucharada de aceite y una cucharadita de vinagre.

Why does the sentence start with Para la salsa?

Para la salsa means for the sauce. It sets the context for what follows: the speaker is now talking about the ingredients or steps for making the sauce.

In a recipe, Spanish often uses this kind of phrase at the beginning to organise the instructions:

• Para la masa... = for the dough
• Para el relleno... = for the filling
• Para la salsa... = for the sauce

It is like saying As for the sauce... or For the sauce... in English.

Why is it para and not por?

In this sentence, para is used because it expresses purpose or intended use: the oil and vinegar are being added for the sauce.

A very useful contrast is:

• para = for, intended for, in order to
• por = because of, through, by, around, in exchange for, etc.

So here, Para la salsa means the sauce is the purpose or destination of these ingredients, which is why para is the natural choice.

What does añado mean exactly?