The 4 Items Ina Garten Always Has In Her Freezer
Moment of truth. We all want to be like Ina Garten. The Barefoot Contessa is the Julia Child of the modern culinary world. Per Business Insider, Garten has had a super fan cook his way through every one of her recipes. She was Liz Lemon's dream neighbor in the Hamptons on an episode of "30 Rock" (via Eater). And then there are her celebrity fans who aren't afraid to share their admiration for the celebrity cook. Taylor Swift, Jennifer Garner, and Michelle Obama all count themselves as members of Garten's Groupies (via Yahoo). It's difficult not to have some serious respect for someone who makes homemade vanilla extract.
Whether we are dishing on the type of chicken Garten uses for salad, discussing the real reason she stores vinegar in the fridge, or whispering about how she revealed on Today the secret (or not so secret) ingredient she uses to make her mashed potatoes — spoilers, it's lemon zest, this "store-bought is fine" advocate knows how to keep us talking about her and the glorious recipes she makes. So, what is the latest Garten gossip that has us kibitzing? Naturally, our attention has turned to her freezer and the four items she always keeps in it.
Covid taught her how to use them
In an interview with Bon Appétit, Ina Garten revealed her freezer always has four grocery items readily accessible. Garten said, "There are always four things in the freezer: soup, homemade stock, Grey Goose vodka, and vanilla Häagen-Dazs." Garten went on to explain that soup is such a "hearty" meal, she and her husband Jeffrey have it for Sunday dinner. And if she is having that vanilla ice cream, she is probably having some Tate's chocolate chip cookies along with it. A woman after our own hearts.
But why these four items? During the 2020 COVID lockdown, Garten posted a photo of her freezer on Instagram, confirming these are her go-to foods she keeps in stock, but went on to share that circumstances were teaching her how to really use them. In the photo, you can see plastic storage containers of tortellini, soup, stock, and Talenti gelato.
Garten also offered a few pro tips on how to store foods in your freezer writing, "Allow food to cool to room temp before packing it in containers. Leave a space in the container because liquids expand when they freeze. Label each container so you know what it is and when you froze it. Don't stack containers until they're frozen so they freeze quickly. Defrost food in the fridge overnight rather than on the counter. It's safer!"