The Secrets of Ina Garten’s Pantry
Ina Garten has a habit of calling for “good olive oil.” You’ll see her call for it in all 11 of her cookbooks, and hear it over and over again on her television shows. But what does she really mean? Haven’t you always wondered what brand of olive oil the Barefoot Contessa actually uses? Well when we were at Garten’s East Hampton home studio kitchen, where she develops all recipes and films her shows, she gave us a tour of her pantry, and we got the answer. To that question, and a whole lot more.
“I generally don’t use unusual ingredients that you’ll only use once,” Garten says. She believes in quick trips to the grocery store—”there’s no point in having a recipe you can make in 30 minutes if you takes you two hours to shop for it”—and always having a backstock of her favorite items. Read on for Garten’s nine most important staples, from a trio of salts to her go-to pasta to the tomato sauce that she vouches is as good as homemade.