kitchen counter

How do people speaking Spanish in Mexico or the Americas vs. Spain commonly say "kitchen counter?" ¿Encimera? ¿Mostrador de la cocina?

Also (in Mexico or the Americas vs. Spain) how do people commonly say the generic word "bowl?" I believe that "plato para sopa," "plato para cereal," etc. are used, but what about a general term for all bowls? ¿Platos hondos? My dictionary mentions "cuenco" but I never hear that.

I know these are basic, but my Spanish-speaking students can never agree among themselves about the translation, so I was curious to hear what the greater community had to say.

In Costa Rica I have heard for kitchen counter "extension de fregadera" and "mueble de cocina". There doesn't seem to be a specific term for it.

As for bowl, I have heard "sopera", "taza", "plato hondo", "plato extendido", and "pirex" (this is a mixing bowl). I assume there are platos hondos and platos extendidos in the USA. They are not quite like a cereal bowl, although they can be used for cereal. They have the general shape of a dinner plate but are deeper. I was in Ecuador recently, and they were used all over the country for soup, stews, etc. Am I making sense?

Cereal is not a common breakfast in Latin America although most markets have a decent selection of domestic and American brands. It's seen as expensive. Many people are convinced that Americans eat nothing else for breakfast! Too many Hollywood movies, I suppose.

My guess is that you are going to get a wide variety of replies that will differ greatly from country to country. For coffee maker, for example, the local term is...."coffee maker". Yes, the English term is used. The standard "chorreador" for making coffee is considered old-fashioned now. Too bad. It makes excellent coffee, certainly better than a perculator or coffee maker because the water is not boiling hot when it hits the coffee. You could say the system is a cousin of the French press.

It's interesting how something as simple as making coffee varies so much from country to country. And, of course, coffee is seen differently. Most Costa Ricans will not drink coffee without eating something too, even if it is just a cracker with butter. Drinking coffee alone is seen as weird. Nicaraguans, I remember, have an enitrely different way of making and serving coffee. When I lived in Brazil, coffee with breakfast was much like American coffee (milk and sugar), but away from the breakfast table coffee was seen more as a dessert than as a beverage. "Cafezinho" can be served with a small cookie, but it is not used to wash down a sandwich or a plate of lasagna. And yet a big cup of coffee at breakfast is seen as normal and civilized.

Good luck!

Argentina:

kitchen counter = mesada
bowl = bol (round vessel open at the top)
soup dish = plato hondo (deep plate with a wide rim)

[quote=aleCcowaN]Perú:

kitchen counter = mostrador de la cocina
bowl = plato para cereal (no creo que sea un término extendido). Me parece recordar "plato dulcero" también
soup dish = plato hondo

México centro:

"bowl", "plato hondo" but if it's big then it's "ensaladera"
"kitchen counter", Not sure what is this? may be just call it "mostrador de cocina"

Regards

I Agree With Alecowan. In Argentina, The Kitchen Counter Is Mesada O It Also Might Be Translated As Desayunador, The Place Where You Have Breakfast.

As For Bowl, We Say Bol And It Is ,as Aleccowan Stated, A Round Vessel Used For Mixing Things To Make A Cake, Or The Like.

Colombia

kitchen counter = meson
bowl for soup = plato hondo

Great discussion last week i have changing all the kitchen appliances and corner so i have buy all the materials through this website very cheap prices and get a very helpful guide and kitchen tips...

thanks for the sharing..