You'll Never Find Ina Garten Using This Common Kitchen Tool

Ina Garten's relaxed, sensible approach in the kitchen makes her exactly the kind of guide we want for all of our cooking, organizing, and entertaining questions. If the Barefoot Contessa does something herself, you can feel confident it makes life that much better, whether it's a refreshingly easy recipe for a dreamy dish, a genius organization hack, or a stress-free solution to throwing a memorable dinner party. We've rounded up 18 kitchen tools Ina Garten considers essential, as these are the secrets to her efficient and effortless culinary magic. But it's just as important and intriguing to know: Is there a kitchen tool she deems unnecessary?

For Garten, it's the garlic press. A fan asked the author and TV personality about overrated kitchen tools on the Barefoot Contessa website, and she replied that she never uses a garlic press because a knife achieves the same goal, and that the fewer gadgets you have, the better organized you can be. There are indeed important things to consider before buying a garlic press, or keeping the one you have. Yes, it speeds up crushing cloves into tiny, aromatic pieces ready for any recipe, but if you're not cooking with fresh garlic every night, you may not even notice the extra minute it takes to dice cloves with a knife, which also gives you control over the sizes of the pieces. Plus, a knife is significantly easier to clean than a garlic press.

If you have solid kitchen knives, which are essential for nearly every meal prep task, you already have what you need to cook with garlic. Dicing cloves is a basic knife skill that is good to know. But if you do cook with garlic a ton and love being able to easily crush the cloves into a paste-like consistency, it may not be overrated for you. The bigger takeaway from Garten's response is to think carefully about what tools you individually need. 

Consider this one of the Barefoot Contessa's kitchen organization tips: Thinking you have to get every kitchen tool can be a waste of money and space, creating clutter where you should have a clean, easy place to work. To streamline your collection, consider each tool, the last time you used it, how often you reach for it, and if any other tool can perform a similar function. 

After all, we all have our own favorites based on what we like to cook and bake. While she considers the garlic press overrated, Garten does have a food mill, often considered dated, because it can give purees more texture than blenders. But if you don't blend a lot or simply don't love the idea of doing so by hand, it's not essential for you. Track which tools you can't live without, and toss the rest to declutter.