Ina Garten Shares Her Favorite Trendy Foods—Plus 3 She Can't Stand
Ina Garten is an open book. In the past, she's been very vocal about which ingredients home cooks should never buy (looking at you, pre-grated Parmesan) and the dish that was hardest for her to master. She's fast to share her "better" methods of making simple kitchen basics like vinaigrette, and how to cook everyday vegetables like snap peas. And she has many, many favorites, from her favorite recipe she's ever written to the recipe that she'd be okay with eating every single night.
Garten is clearly not afraid to share her opinion, which is why the staff at NBC's Today Show decided to ask the Food Network star about foods that many home cooks love to make today—from trendy items appearing on Instagram to dishes popular with the millennial crowd. You may be wondering: Does the Barefoot Contessa love a good avocado toast as much as we do?
Ina Garten rated the following foods as "hot" or "not" live on television, which led to pretty surprising moments that fans might not have seen coming. You can watch the video in full right here. We'll start with her five favorite trendy foods:
Avocado Toast: "One of my favorites," Ina says on camera. "Definitely hot." Garten toasts her choice of bread, and then actually resorts to a simplified guacamole recipe as a topping rather than sliced avocado—"really well seasoned," she says.
Grain Bowls: It seems that Ina loves layering fresh proteins on top of a bed of delicious grains—who wouldn't?!
Kale: "When did kale get a PR agent?" Ina asked. "Everything is kale, and the truth is, I love it!" So do we, Ina! You can peek our best kale recipes here.
Cauliflower Rice: "I love cauliflower in every form—soup, on toast—and cauliflower rice is fantastic," she said. "Definitely hot!"
Quinoa: "It's so easy to overcook it and it gets a little slimy," Garten said. "But if it's perfectly prepared, it can be delicious."
None of these are too shocking—Garten clearly has great taste. But while we know that the Barefoot Contessa has a serious aversion to cilantro (which may or may not be due to genetics), we didn't know that Ina straight up hates these three foods:
Pumpkin Spice Latte: "I like coffee to taste like coffee." Well said! Plus, there are many other healthier drinks one could order at Starbucks.
Kombucha: Apparently, the "Today" staff had to explain what kombucha was, and Ina didn't love the concept. "I'm not big on anything that's fermented, so I'm thinking 'Not.'" Could it be that Ina Garten has never tried kombucha before?! If you haven't tried kombucha either, we suggest sampling this product first.
Zoodles: "I like them mixed with pasta," Ina said. "So I like zucchini and pasta together, but not just zucchini." While we do think that a bowl of zoodles can be delicious on its own (tossed in this spicy noodle peanut sauce, for example), you can easily grab a package of pre-spiralized zoodles at your local supermarket to add to your favorite pasta recipe.
