Ina Garten is Sharing Her Favorite Pantry Recipes On Instagram & We're Already Drooling (2024)

FAQs

What brand of salt does Ina Garten use? ›

For cooking, Garten told Bon Appétit that she uses Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, which she called "always perfect."

Chef Ina Garten has revealed to Food Network Magazine that she always reaches for this brand of cake flour. Garten says that Swans Down brand is the gold standard for fluffy, delicate cakes, since their cake flour is 27 times finer than standard all-purpose flour.

Ina has been using Olio Santo olive oil for at least 20 years, so you know it's dependable. Plus, Ina mentions that she usually doesn't buy “unusual” ingredients that she'll only use once; she clearly prefers the classics. Olive oil is just one of those multi-purpose ingredients that tastes great with everything.

Cipriani pasta pairs well with luxurious ingredients

For pasta dishes that call for a little more pizzazz, Ina Garten opts for Cipriani, an artisanal pasta brand that was founded at a restaurant in Venice in the 1930s.

She's been using the same brand of olive oil for at least 20 years. Garten lists "good olive oil" in many of her recipes — from her updated take on a classic chicken marbella to her tomato and eggplant soup. But the oil she truly prefers to use is Olio Santo's cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil, she told Bon Appétit.

Simple and versatile

If you want to outfit your kitchen with dinnerware similar to the cookbook author's, Garten shares on her website that she gets some of her favorite serving pieces from the likes of Williams-Sonoma and Crate & Barrel. She writes, "They both have a huge range of white china.

Perfume. "The scent of Une Fleur de Cassie always reminds me of Paris," says Ina, who has worn it for decades.

In person, Ina Garten is exactly the way she's been immortalized on TV. On the day I visit her at her idyllic East Hampton compound, she's wearing one of her signature oversize navy button-up shirts, which she buys in bulk from Eileen Fisher, Talbots, and Lands'End.

If you're starting to get into baking of any stripe, including bread (and have you seen Ina's Thanksgiving desserts?!) it's time to think about getting a good digital scale like Ina's pick, the OXO Kitchen Scale. Not only does it improve the taste of your desserts as it's more precise, but it cuts down on mess.

Fini Balsamic Vinegar

One of Garten's most popular recipes that feature balsamic vinegar is her Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries. And when it comes time to coat the strawberries with balsamic vinegar, sugar and pepper, be sure to use Garten's favorite Fini Balsamic Vinegar. Photo : Amazon.

What vanilla extract does Barefoot Contessa use? ›

Lucky for all of us Barefoot Contessa superfans (call us Ina's Angels), the kitchen queen's website features a comprehensive guide to her favorite gadgets, ingredients and brands. On the list, of course, is her go-to brand of vanilla, Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon pure vanilla extract.

According to Flay, he prefers avocado oil when sautéing because of its higher smoke point and the fact that it has a more neutral flavor. This mild quality makes sure that the garlic and onion aromas shine through.

Naturally, Garten seems to enjoy using Rao's marinara sauce for Italian applications. "It's great for pasta. It's great for lasagna. It's great for putting together a really fast dinner," she told Bon Appétit.

But we'd guess that not many of us spend as much time in our kitchens as Ina Garten, the Food Network personality and cookbook author who goes to work in her kitchen all year long.

Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt

And if he had to estimate, Matijevich says Diamond Crystal is the type of kosher salt 90% of professional chefs use because of the clean flavor and since its crystals are so easy to pick up with your hands. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is kosher certified, according to the brand.

Salt and Pepper

In his kitchen, Bobby opts for a rotation of different salts and freshly ground black pepper. “I use kosher salt most of the time, and I grind my own black peppercorns and I just put 'em in a bowl as opposed to having it in a pepper mill,” he says.

The Cecchini family has lived in Italian wine country (between Florence and Siena) for over 250 years and their proprietary salt blend is commonly known in the region as "profumo del Chianti" or the scent of Chianti, as De Laurentiis explains on her Giadzy site where she sells the bottles.

While we call for both table and kosher salt in our recipes, we generally prefer the larger, coarser grains of kosher salt for rubbing onto meat or sprinkling over foods. A handful of smaller companies and artisans manufacture kosher salt, but two major brands, Diamond Crystal and Morton, dominate the American market.