Giada De Laurentiis Really Hates This Popular Health Food

When a celebrity expresses extreme disapproval for an ingredient, we have to take notice. Such is the case with Giada de Laurentiis. While she's been vocal about not ordering lemon pasta in restaurants, she's also clearly stated her disregard for one dish that has made the rounds in health food circles. On Episode 509 of Christopher Kimball's "Milk Street," de Laurentiis admitted she hates cauliflower rice. "Everybody says to me, 'Why don't you have cauliflower rice in your cookbook?'" she laments on the show. "I don't like cauliflower rice. Ok? Leave me alone."

Though super simple cauliflower rice can help build lighter, less filling meals with an extra punch of vegetables, de Laurentiis isn't the only one who has an issue with the creation. Whether turned into risotto or elevated with added ingredients, netizens have taken to Reddit to complain about the consistency and texture of the dish. Some users admit to playing a mind game while eating cauliflower rice, and others state simply that the dish offers little in the way of enjoyment and taste. 

Admittedly, preparation is key when it comes to turning bits of cauliflower into something on par with rice. The dish was first made without any intention of it becoming as popular as it grew, however. Chopped up chunks of cauliflower were first attributed to a chef in California who didn't call it rice but cauliflower couscous in 1998. Chef Ben Ford was in the process of developing a lamb dish when this cauliflower recipe took shape, but it took over 10 years for the dish to hit mainstream media by way of Eric Ripert's show "Avec Eric."

Packed with vitamin C and offering potassium and fiber while remaining low in carbohydrates, cauliflower rice has captured the attention of those tracking macros. Soaring popularity of the recipe raised feathers of the U.S. Rice Association, which began to worry that cauliflower rice might negatively impact what young people thought of actual rice, yet confusion between the vegetable and the grain appears slim. Aversion to the dish, like de Laurentiis', seems much more clear.